What Went Wrong
1. Authoritarianism Turned to Total Paranoia
• Papa Doc Duvalier (1957–1971): Ruthless dictator who created a reign of terror via the Tonton Macoute militia. While tourism continued under his rule, internal stability was illusionary.
• Baby Doc Duvalier (1971–1986): Took over as a weak, corrupt playboy. His regime was propped up by foreign aid but hollowed out internally. His greed, mismanagement, and repression caused massive unrest and brain drain.
2. Collapse of Institutions
• Education, infrastructure, healthcare, and agriculture were all gutted. The Duvaliers enriched themselves but left no durable national systems behind.
• After Baby Doc’s fall in 1986, Haiti saw repeated coups, weak governance, and a nearly non-functional state.
3. Environmental Catastrophe
• Severe deforestation (Haiti is now over 98% deforested) led to soil erosion, crop failure, and vulnerability to hurricanes.
• Urban overpopulation and lack of rural opportunities increased the pressure on Port-au-Prince and created slums.
4. Economic Dependency and Exploitation
• Haiti was pushed toward dependency on foreign aid and IMF programs that enforced austerity and trade liberalization.
• This undermined local agriculture (e.g., U.S. subsidized rice undercut Haitian farmers) and increased poverty.
5. Natural Disasters
• Hurricane Jeanne (2004), the 2010 Earthquake, and others devastated an already fragile country.
• The 2010 quake killed over 200,000 and destroyed government buildings, worsening the power vacuum.
6. Foreign Interventions and Exploitation
• UN peacekeeping missions (like MINUSTAH) were controversial—introducing cholera in 2010, for example.
• NGOs often operated as a shadow government, leading to fragmentation and miscoordination.
7. Gang Rule and Political Chaos
• In the 2020s, gangs now control large parts of Port-au-Prince and the countryside, filling the power void left by the collapse of the state.
• The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse left the country in a lawless, leaderless freefall.
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⚫ Summary: Why It Fell Apart
Haiti’s descent wasn’t due to any one event, but a slow collapse caused by authoritarian kleptocracy, international exploitation, environmental degradation, and repeated shocks from which it never recovered. The allure it had in the 1970s was fragile—built more on myth and momentary stability than on enduring foundations.