Has Préval lost favor with Washington?

What does René G. Préval, considered the ideological twin brother of Jean Bertrand Aristide in many circles, really share in common with the exiled former Haitian president? They both share an aversion to Washington’s hegemony: one concealed and calculated in Préval’s case; the other expressive and emotional, the main characteristics of that of Aristide. This explains why in the twilight of his presidency, (he is due to leave office next February) Préval has become arrogant in his defiance toward Washington, an attitude that is clearly detrimental to the welfare of the Haitian people.
While no one expects Washington to send in a plane and cart away René Préval somewhere in Africa, the Haitian president is as expendable as his former friend and mentor. Like Aristide, Préval misunderstands the geopolitical reality or overestimates his abilities to circumvent the iron grip of Washington in Haitian politics. The release of a scathing report by a U.S Senate committee condemning Préval’s administration highlights two possibilities: He may be the victim of a targeted manipulation of public opinion or simply lost favor with Washington. At issue is the apparent failure of the Préval government to tackle corruption and restructure the electoral council prior to the general elections tentatively scheduled for November 28th of this year.
Last Thursday in a 16-page report by the U.S Foreign Relations Committee, the senior Republican on the panel, Richard Lugar, advised the lawmakers to reconsider sending aid to Haiti unless reforms are made. "President Préval's actions do not suggest a departure from the self-destructive political behavior that has kept Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere," wrote Senator Lugar, adding "It is incumbent upon Congress to reassess our government's investments in Haiti, if this partnership is in question." As the interests of the Haitian nation and those of the U.S, its largest aid supplier, are greater than those of Préval, the lame duck president must reconsider his blind course of action and implement the needed reforms.
Bear in mind this is the public version of the Committee report which probably contains the word incompetence and other less flattering adjectives describing Préval and his clique. It is also a sweeping indictment of the political class that has shown a marked indifference for the welfare of the Haitian people over the last two centuries. A new breed of technocrats is needed to rebuild Haiti; as Obama correctly said during the 2008 U.S presidential campaign “you cannot try the same policies with the same group of people and expect different results.” The Diaspora has a reservoir of talents but must abandon its dual-citizenship scheme unless it agrees to pay taxes, which is the primary obligation of all citizens, to the Haitian state.
René Préval is a man who rallied against emergency food aid to the victims of the January 12 disaster, arguing that it would inadvertently destroy national production. At first glance, the argument made sense, except for the fact that Préval’s own actions (he aggressively implemented the IMF prescription of ending government subsidies to Haitian farmers and lowering tariffs on imported foodstuffs), translated into Haiti importing 80% of its food needs prior to the tragedy. Any first year economic student knows that boosting national production can be accomplished by subsidizing the farmers and imposing higher tariffs on imports, but the man is too coy to stand up to the irrational demands of the IMF. The bottom line is that Préval is trying to protect the interests of the economic elite that benefits from the import of agricultural products, not the beleaguered Haitian farmers or the victims of the earthquake.
This is a man whose failure or inability to inspire and lead is preventing the nation from exculpating itself from the stupor caused by the tragedy, preferring instead to engage in petty partisan politics (obsessively trying to secure his legacy) and blaming the international community for its slow pace in delivering the promised aid. For four and a half years, Préval seemed content to ride out his term but his luck ran out on January 12. His actions or lack thereof validate the notion that Haiti needs supervision; that its future cannot be trusted into the hands of a political leadership that has proven itself to be essentially inept and utterly corrupt. Although a fair assessment of a political era or leadership is best left to the care of future historians, it is a given that history will not be kind to Préval whose ascent to the presidency of Haiti (twice) might be considered a sick joke played on the Haitian people or the premier mischief of Jean Bertrand Aristide.
In light of the overwhelming and pressing needs created by the January 12 earthquake, a freezing or rationing of U.S aid will be catastrophic for Haiti and its people. Indeed the idea of excluding the country’s largest political party from participating in the incoming elections is a self-destructive political behavior. It amounts to disenfranchising a sizable portion of the electorate at the very juncture when Haiti, attempting a rebirth in the aftermath of the tragedy, needs all its sons and daughters for the monumental task at hands. Because it is the politic of exclusion that has impeded Haiti’s development for the last 206 years, it is therefore inconceivable that a newer version of the old system is being promoted as an alternative by René Préval. The ball is in Washington’s court.