Caribbean Currents #011: Democracy Is Too Expensive

Haiti: the failed state, CARICOM: the failed federation

Mar 12, 2024

March 11th, 2024 Edition

Commentary on the headlines from across the region.

🕒 Constitution-less Republic Day Counter:
It has now been 833 days since Barbados “transitioned” to a republic without a new constitution.

The True Price Of Democracy

The West Is Still Unwilling To Bear The Cost Of Fixing Haiti

“If It Walks Like a Duck”

“Analysts on Haiti keep using terms like “collapsing”, “on the brink”, “descending”. But Haiti has already collapsed. There is no worse phase to come. We are simply avoiding a serious conversation.” - Rasheed Griffith, Executive Director of CPSI

Haiti’s state of ruin continues to betray the dearth of true political will to rectify the stain on Western Democracy. Leaders across the Americas seem remiss to “call a spade a spade”, and brand Haiti for the failed state that it is. Until such a time, it will be difficult to amass the determination needed to begin the process of truly addressing deep-rooted problems that have brought the country to this point.

Conversely, it could be the very recognition of collapse that is draining prospects for a solution. CARICOM was unable to come to any viable means of resolving the crisis, beyond forcing the hand of the democratic process and pushing PM Henry to have elections and eventually resign. Elections will not produce the desired effect. Henry himself lost favor internationally and is no longer seen as the voice of the Haitian people, however, it is unclear what this even means at the moment. Ongoing gang violence has brought the country to a standstill, with one particular kingpin, an ex-police officer turned gangster who goes by the name “Barbecue”, controlling swaths of the country’s infrastructure. Social systems that would be required to cement the legitimacy of an incoming government have been eroded to non-existence. Haiti as we know it, or what Western leaders want to see, has vanished. It no longer qualifies as a country. What is left is more akin to a war zone. It is this fact that perhaps may be causing Western leaders to pause tackling the Haitian crisis. There is no appetite to go to war, even less so in the current world climate. In any case, who would they be going to war against? Who is willing to bear the brunt of the economic costs to fund this war?

Time For Great Compromise

Perhaps Nixon’s infamous policy of not negotiating with terrorists is not the best approach. All efforts in Haiti are aimed at quelling gang violence and social unrest. However, Haiti’s “government” no longer speaks for the country, merely acting as a facade with which the rest of the world interacts in an almost delusional manner, on behalf of the Haitian people. They are no more legitimate than Barbecue et al, so why not negotiate with him instead? The grievances of the people stem from constant betrayal and the resulting void left by governments that have been unable to function or provide a reprieve from economic hardship and successive natural disasters. Corruption, racketeering, and other crimes at the highest levels of government have deprived Haiti of the necessities for an effective society. As a result, some of the gangs and various criminal organizations which have risen from the chaos are in reality, the closest things to governing bodies left in Haiti. Barbecue was able to gridlock Port-au-Prince and deny “Prime Minister” Ariel Henry admission to his own country for several days after a meeting in Kenya. This speaks volumes to the level of control any so-called government possesses. It may be time to compromise and seek some form of reconciliation with whatever powers exist to create makeshift social institutions.

The alternative? Kinetic engagement. An overwhelming military response would be necessary to tame the wild west that Haiti has devolved into. No one has thrown their hat in the ring to generate or lead such an effort. Even mercenary-for-hire Kenya has been enlisted to send a police force, rather than a military contingent. Everyone wishes to avoid the optics of a full-scale war against an abstract enemy: lawlessness. And even the largest economy in the world has lost interest in placing its forces on the ground. The USA recognizes the Sisyphean task of fixing Haiti and has opted not to add to its long list of recent military failures abroad. What we’ve settled on is an anemic multinational push, complete with vague wording on what exactly is to be accomplished and how. In other words, much of the same.

Endgame: Nation Building

Let’s jump the gun a little. Should any multinational initiative to bring Haiti to heel succeed, who will model the new society? Who gets to determine the blueprint for a new and reformed Haiti? And what measures will be taken to avoid the new nation sliding back into depravity? The latter would require all parties to acknowledge how Haiti arrived at this chaotic impasse in the first place.

At present Haiti remains in CARICOM mostly to avoid adding another layer of betrayal to the Haitian people, this time abandonment from its Caribbean siblings. It has long ceased to be a country, let alone a viable member of CARICOM. In an ironic twist of fate, its island neighbor, the Dominican Republic has expressed interest in joining CARICOM as an associate member, which has drawn murmurs from the region due to the DR’s policies towards Haiti.

Over the past few years, the region has adopted more of a containment directive, preventing Haiti’s problems from cascading to its neighbors via immigration. Should a future relief effort reverse Haiti’s trajectory, what would this mean for CARICOM? The future is up in the air, but that is no different from the present where a helpless CARICOM can only observe the fires in its backyard and do nothing of note to help. This is all to say that there does not seem to be a plan. There is no coordinated relief centered on remedying Haiti’s social infrastructure or fostering an international relationship that could prevent another rapid era of decay. It’s almost like this collapsed country is now being seen as a feature, rather than a flaw until that changes, the status quo will be maintained.

Additional reading:
The Dangers of Failed and Weak States in the Caribbean - Scott B. MacDonald, The National Interest

Regional Existential Crisis

CARICOM Pillars Show Age-Old Cracks

It’s been nothing short of a whirlwind month for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Hot on the heels of the veritable collapse of one of its members, was the announcement of several potential new additions to the family and more interestingly, a bid to finally ratify one of the union’s founding pillars - freedom of movement. CARICOM has long glanced at the likes of the EU with envy, eager to emulate the cooperation and policy synchronicity that has empowered the 27-member bloc, but lacking the political will to tangibly implement the necessary changes to do so.

According to developments from the recently concluded CARICOM Heads Meeting in Guyana, efforts are being made to bring true freedom of movement to fruition. Prime Minister Mottley proclaimed that the necessary stakeholders were on track for a March 31st deadline. At face value, one would assume that one of the basic principles of CARICOM is finally materializing. Closer inspection reveals a more disappointing truth and the harsh reality of CARICOM’s status as a failed political experiment.

Firstly, we need to make the distinction between CARICOM and the CSME. CARICOM is the loosely associated collection of Caribbean territories that have agreed to present a united front on the global stage. Within CARICOM is a smaller collective that has taken this idea further with the principles of free movement of goods, services, people, and skills, this is called the CARICOM Single Market and Economy or CSME.

At present, most CSME citizens enjoy the ability to travel to any of the participating member states and the right to remain for 6 months on a CARICOM passport. It’s a rather bare-bones arrangement and the key phrase here is “most citizens”. Any non-signatory CARICOM state has essentially opted out as the Bahamas did on accession to a full member of CARICOM. Beyond this rather flimsy premise, there is no deterrent to CARICOM members slapping each other with travel restrictions, like Belize has done with Haiti.

Freedom of movement is a CARICOM ideal, currently implemented only via the CSME aspect of the bloc. It isn’t mandatory for any member of CARICOM that isn’t also in the CSME. Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic are well aware of this fact and their recent interest in membership reflects it. Bermuda announced its intention to apply for full CARICOM membership in the latter half of 2023. It is currently an Associated Member which serves no real purpose beyond granting an observer seat on various committees. From the outset, Premier Burt has made it clear that freedom of movement is not on the table. Bermuda is still a British Overseas territory, and its standalone immigration policies exist in conformity with that status. As crown land, it cannot accept any foreign organization’s imposed immigration regulations, nor have them override its own. The CSME’s freedom of movement was never an option for the island and it hasn’t applied for such.

The same can be said for the British Virgin Islands, another British Overseas Territory (what gave it away?), which is interested in joining CARICOM but not the CSME. The Dominican Republic also announced its desire to join, but as an Associated State, which would give it nothing more than the previously mentioned observer status. However it too has dispelled any notions that should it ascend to full status, it would accept freedom of movement. None of the newly interested members wish to join the CSME, only CARICOM itself. In case we’ve all forgotten, the DR shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, a failed state that has already caused an immigration row at their shared border. They are not keen to allow a deluge of immigrants from the troubled half of the island. No CARICOM member is.

So why even announce this deadline? Why the sudden fanfare over a feature that should have been in place from the get-go? If the CARICOM leaders are to be believed, this change will usher in a new era of prosperity and development. Perhaps if many of the participants weren’t all heavily indebted banana republics, this would be partially true. Maybe if a ticket to hop between those members wasn’t ⅓ of the average salary, this would be true. But most importantly, maybe if it were mandatory for the entire bloc to begin with and not an oddly timed announcement to hide the political impotence of the entire initiative (especially in the face of Haiti’s implosion), then perhaps it would be true. We’ll be keeping an eye on that March 31st deadline to breathe a collective sigh of indifference.

Cherished Symbols Of Self-Harm

Caribbean Confuses Archaic Values For Freedom

At a glance, the gaps on this chart are very apparent. It would have been much easier to simply list the countries that do have the bare minimum legal provisions for gay individuals. The Caribbean remains a major bastion of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the Western Hemisphere with most territories maintaining colonial laws that aim to punish or marginalize queer groups.

None is more prolific than Jamaica which has built and fostered an entire brand on psuedo-Christian ideals of strong traditions with a healthy dose of intolerance. However, it is not alone. Dominica, Guyana, Belize, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia lack any legal provisions at all, with many ongoing conversations within those countries stalling.

Barbados and Suriname are the only two CARICOM states with any discrimination protections in their constitutions with Barbados having made most of these changes to its legal framework in 2022. Post-transition to a republic, the country still has no constitution and the working document was stalled and delayed to the tail end of 2024 after a consultation that saw religious groups balk at the idea of sexual orientation being brought up.

Surprisingly, the British Atlantic Overseas Territories align closely with their equally backward-thinking Caribbean counterparts. The British Pacific and Indian Ocean Territories do recognize gay marriage, but those in the Caribbean don’t. Bermuda in particular stepped into the international spotlight for being one of the only territories to legalise gay marriage, only to ban it again in 2022. The United Kingdom reserves the right to unilaterally impose the changes to all its territories, but due to the sensitivity of the matter, has opted not to do so for its West Indian colonies.

An interesting point of note is that while the majority of the Caribbean has decriminalized homosexual acts, there is an age discrepancy for some territories like Bermuda which restricts the age of consent to 18 for such acts, rather than 16 for the heterosexual equivalent.

We’ll cover the historical context behind the region’s firm grasp on colonial barbarism, but for now, it doesn’t take a genius to spot looming legislative disparity that will again, erode many prospects for a unified region. Barbados and Trinidad seem poised to enact the biggest changes, with Barbados having a strong economic incentive to do so due to its service-based economy. If the Caribbean Community can’t even agree on basic civil liberties, then it cannot be expected to responsibly introduce necessary policies to further cooperative development.

CPSI Podcast of the Week

Citizenship by Investment or CBI programs tend to get a bad rap due to the misconceptions surrounding how they work and how they came to be. Dr Kristin Surak shares some valuable insights on the origins of "passports for sale" and goes into more depth on the true meaning of citizenship through the eyes of the people and the state.