Brazil - Brazzil Mag - Mercosur Asks in Brazil: Where's the Money for Haiti?

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A joint communiqué from the Mercosur summit, which took place on Friday in Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, declared that the economic block remains committed to achieving stability in Haiti where political unrest has raged since February when the president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, stepped down.

At the moment, a UN transition mission (Minustah) is in Haiti with troops from all the Mercosur founding countries, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as Chile, an associate member.

In the Mercosur document, the presidents declare: "...solidarity with the people of Haiti and a continuing commitment to helping achieve political stability, national reconciliation, the construction of democratic institutions and the social and economic development of Haiti. At the same time, we continue to participate in Minustah and the reconstruction of Haiti."

The Mercosur presidents also called on the international community to provide the manpower needed to make Minustah effective.

The Mercosur leaders also called for more money and less red tape, pointing out that at a donor's meeting in July over US$ 1 billion was promised for Haitian reconstruction.

Another Haitian problem that the Mercosur summit underlined is the general election scheduled for next year.

There are no reliable voter lists in Haiti and the UN estimates that half the population does not have any valid identification documents.

So the Mercosur communiqué calls on the UN and the Organization of American States to assist in preparing for the election.

The Smell eminating from Mercosur in Hai
written by Guest, 2004-12-20 20:09:19

Agência Brasil writes, "A joint communiqué from the Mercosur summit, which took place on Friday in Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, declared that the economic block remains committed to achieving stability in Haiti where political unrest has raged since February when the president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, stepped down."

It defies the imagination that Mercosur continues to parrot the US State Department line that Aristide "stepped down." Their subservience to Washington is clear as they completely dismiss the positions of the Republic of South Africa, Venezuela, the 50 nations of the African Union, and the 15 nations of the Caribbean Community who refuse to recognize the current brutal regime in Haiti.

The roles of Brazil, Argentina and Chile, in providing legitimacy to what was a coup against a democratically elected government, is particulary ironic given the history of their own countries. Humberto Castelo Branco, and Jorge Rafael Videla must be applauding from their graves as Augusto Pinochet wraps himself in the contradiction like a warm blanket.

The simple truth is that Mercosur is complicit in "assisting" the US-installed regime in Haiti in covering the facts of the recent coup through the violent elimination of the majority political party, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas party. Thousands have been murdered since February 29th and thousands more languish and rot away as political prisoners in jails throughout the country. Meanwhile, Mercosur members cynically fall over themselves to curry favor with Washington under the auspices of a UN "peacekeeping" force.

The Haitian people deserve better and the citizens of the Mercosur nations deserve better. In the end, history will never forget the terrible smell of Washington's ass eminating from their noses.

Kevin Pina
Independent Journalist
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
kp@teledyol.net

The Smell eminating from Mercosur in Haiti
written by Lloyd Cata, 2007-12-04 18:09:17

Bravo! Well said and about time.

Haiti becomes a clear indication of how Mercosur will operate as a instrument for progress throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Follow the US(and French) policies with regard to Haiti, considering the history(PapaDoc, etc). Of course, dooming this operation to failure only reinforces the claim the Mercosur itself is ineffective and should be disbanded.
What is the excuse for US and France for the abject misery of Haiti? When did they pursue a course that would lift the Haitian people? Of course they can show you how much money they put, how much grain they donated, and how they do good in Haiti. Now they must only blame the Haitian people, and reinforce for everyone else that the status quo is all that is possible for such a miserable people.

I had much hope for the Mercosur agreements to support Haitian self-determination. Haiti is one of the first democratic nations in the region, and the first slave nation to gain its freedom. The treachery of the Dominican Republic to facilitate Aristides removal and US policy stinks worse than the sewers of Port-o-Prince and will not be forgotten. If that behavior is acceptable to Mercosur, then agree to FTAA and WTO right now, because eventually you will find yourselves in the same pot.

The use of Mercosur as a tool to continue the policies of US-France, which only prolongs the suffering of the Haitian people, is a calculated attempt to discredit Mercosur as an instrument for 'change' throughout the developing world. Use of Brazilian and other troops to enforce the status quo will be a shame to them throughout the world. If you are in favor of the status quo, then continue. If not, then somewhere the break between Anglo-European interests and Mercosur must break. The sooner the better, for Haiti and for Mercosur.

The present situation is also inconsistent with Brazil's commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement. The smell of this operation not only comes from Haiti, but from the impending death of Mercosur.