22403: Lawless: 22376: Re: Wilcken: Remembering Reagan

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Lawless <robert.lawless@wichita.edu>
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>From my Haiti's Bad Press:

        Under pressure from the administration of U.S. President Jimmy
Carter's
emphasis on human rights, Jean-Claude did make some progressive changes.
By
the end of 1979, however, Jean-Claude's administration had slid back
toward
repression as the Carter administration became occupied with other
matters.
Correctly reading the incoming Reagan administration's lack of interest in
human rights, the Haitian government increased its control of political,
press,
and labor groups.  In fact, immediately following Reagan's election in
November
1980, several hundred progressive Haitians were arrested and many were
deported.

For the next six years Haiti was an example of what the United States
will do for a pro-American, anti-communist country.  With the help of
various
U.S. government agencies the indigenous economy was destroyed and Haiti
became
economically dependent on the United States.  With the aid of the
international
lending enterprise Haiti joined the ranks of the debtor nations for the
first
time in its history.  And with the Reagan administration giving five times
as
much military aid to the dictatorship as had Carter the army in Haiti
finally
regained the power it had lost under Franois.