19707: Harvey: What's the opposition platform on the economy? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Sean Harvey <seanharvey@juno.com>


While I'm interested and concerned about whether or not the US was directly involved in the recent events that led to Aristide's departure, I'm especially curious about one thing that I haven't heard discussed yet on the list.

Now that the political opposition can stop focusing on Aristide's flaws, what is their plan(s) for improving the Haitian economy and promoting both jobs and small businesses for the vast majority of Haitians who are out of work and below the poverty line?

I have yet to hear this issue addressed and would be curious to hear how this is going to be tackled. Particularly:

1. Is there a plan to (or the possibility of) radically and permanently improve Haiti's infrastructure and road system to make it easier to conduct trade within the country and make it more attractive (eventually) to the kind of relatively high-paying, high-tech factory jobs that have been so good to Costa Rica and others?

2. What is the plan for education? Both literacy, radically improving education for children, and adult education that would focus on creating a highly skilled Haitian workforce over the course of the next ten years or so?

3. What is the plan for neutralizing the corrosive, unpredictable chain of violence that has again brought so much suffering (and so much bad press) to Haiti? How should the new government handle both the neighborhood gangs and the "new" Haitian military that Guy Philippe just declared? How do we bring true security to Haiti for the first time in my lifetime? And not just security for those who can afford to pay security guards!

4. It takes a long time for any country to invest in its infrastructure and workforce in a way that radically improves people's lives. What do you think the new government should do in the interim to foster small business and jobs for the unemployed in the interim?

If the former political opposition to Aristide doesn't have a coherent, effective plan on these issues, they won't be around for very long and we can look forward to them complaining about the next left-wing populist for years to come on this list...