Bread, Circuses and U.S. Aid to Haiti

The U.S. Agency for International Development's Haiti Field Report "provides an excellent case study for investigating the role of USAID in promoting U.S. foreign policy objectives under the friendly guise of aid," writes Sasha Kramer. "The United States is primarily concerned with Haiti's upcoming elections. ... In Haiti, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, the timeliness and appearance of legitimacy of the electoral process are of paramount importance for the Bush Administration's PR machine." USAID, she writes, has a "strategy for pacifying Haiti's largest political party, Lavalas, though selective distribution of aid." For example, USAID established a "Play for Peace" summer camp in the neighborhood of a popular priest and Lavalas activist. According to Kramer, USAID concluded, "The fruits of these efforts were seen during a recent demonstration attended by 200 people. At the same time ... 300 people were enjoying the summer camp. It is believed that the camp prevented the demonstration from being larger and giving greater legitimacy to the protesters."