My TakeA time for Haiti diplomacy
- How China can help develop the western hemisphere’s poorest country
A full-blown political crisis now threatens the western hemisphere’s poorest country. But its problems run deep and are rooted in chronic underdevelopment, extreme poverty and the oligarchic dominance of a small elite tied to the United States. The global pandemic has exacerbated those problems.
How can Haiti break out of its cycle of poverty and tragedy? There is no sure way. But a fully democratic system, a diplomatic alliance with the US and Taiwan, and forever reliance on foreign and Western aid, have all been tried and failed.
China’s developmental aid, from key infrastructure projects to cheap telecoms connections, may offer an alternative for the future. In this regard, consider the neighbouring Dominican Republic (DR).
Back in 2018, the DR government of former president Danilo Medina followed the example of Panama a year before and switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the mainland; then, El Salvador followed the DR in the same year.