Barack Obama Election, What Does it Mean to Haiti?

Haiti is seen as one of the Caribbean nations that were probably relieved by Obama's victory. However, Interior Minister Rosnard Saint-Cyr said before the U.S. election that whoever wins the race does not really matter because the U.S. policy towards Haiti will not change. This was somehow opposed by some critics who believe that an Obama victory would be better for Haiti than a Romney leadership.

They said that a Democratic leader is more willing to provide assistance to poor people in Haiti, while a Republican will likely approach relevant issues in a stricter and hard-line way. Democratic supporters, they added, are more sympathetic and ready to help poor countries such as Haiti than Republican ones. Moreover, Obama's government is expected to push for liberal policies compared to Republican policies that jeopardize women's rights and immigration system.

The U.S. was in the forefront of helping Haiti during its darkest times. In 2010, Obama launched one of the U.S.'s largest relief operations when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean nation. However, the assistance was not really maximized. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton earlier aired concerns over the fact that millions of dollars of foreign assistance still could not improve the lives of poor people in Haiti and other parts of the world.

This is the reason, she said, why the U.S. government established a stronger relationship with Haiti. Instead of simply working in Haiti, Washington has decided to partner with Port-au-Prince, Clinton said.

Reply to this article

Read more: barack obama, Election, Martelly - United States, U.S., Hilary Clinton, United States

Main | Caracol A Village In Haiti »

Return to Articles List

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.