Aristide, Jean-Bertrand (1953–)

Jean-Bertrand Aristide has twice been president of Haiti. The nature of his rise to power and his removal from power (twice, in 1991 and in 2004) has made him an international figure of great significance. Throughout his career as a radical Catholic priest and a politician, he has sided firmly with the poorest inhabitants of a poor country. His radicalism has led to both great hope and great instability in Haiti, especially as the United States has intervened in Haitian politics.

Aristide was ordained as a Salesian priest in 1983. Most of his work as a priest took place in the slums of Port-au-Prince. His exposure to the extraordinary poverty in these areas affirmed his more radical religious beliefs, expressed in his book In the Parish of the Poor. He first came to national prominence in the mid-1980s when he broadcast his sermons on national Catholic radio. This exposure quickly drew the wrath of both the Duvalier dictatorship and the Catholic authorities. In 1988 (2 years after Duvalier's ouster), Aristide was expelled from the Salesian order for incitement to hate and violence and exaltation of class struggle. Aristide ran for president in 1990, at the head of a movement he labeled Lavalas (meaning “the flood”). The election was a stunning victory for Aristide and for poor and marginalized Haitians: He won over two thirds of the national vote and took office in February 1991. Despite the democratic opening and Duvalier's departure, an entrenched elite remained very much in place. The military, with support from the elite, moved quickly to oust Aristide. He was forced into exile in September 1991. The bulk of Aristide's exile was spent in the United [Page 193]States, where he worked tirelessly to secure his return to the presidency of Haiti. Growing international pressure, combined with a relatively sympathetic Clinton administration, created the political conditions for Aristide's return. He was reinstalled in October 1994, in the wake of a massive deployment of U.S. troops.

Aristide's chosen successor, Rene Preval, won 88% of the vote in the 1995 presidential election, and Aristide (constitutionally permitted to run again) prevailed with over 90% of the vote in 2000. This election came under heavy criticism from the international community and from opposition groups in Haiti, many of whom refused to participate. Conditions polarized over the next 3 years. Aristide and his opponents repeatedly refused to compromise, Aristide's supporters formed gangs to intimidate opposition figures, and the opposition responded in kind. As the violence worsened in 2004, many of the gangs linked to Aristide defected and directed their violence at his supporters. Anti-Aristide insurgents eventually succeeded in controlling two larger Haitian cities, and by late February, they were advancing on Port-au-Prince. In this increasingly anarchic atmosphere, the United States took the unilateral step of removing Aristide from power, transporting him on a U.S. aircraft to Africa on February 29, 2004. Aristide maintains that he was taken against his will by U.S. troops. Numerous high-level U.S. officials claim that he went willingly. Aristide has continued to argue his case while in exile in South Africa. Rene Preval, Aristide's former close associate, won the presidential election in February 2006 and has begun to consider the issue of Aristide's return.

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