Economy of Haiti

Haiti has benefited in a rather solid economic partnership with Venezuela. This recently-forged friendship between Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and Haitian president Rene Preval has resulted in various economic agreements. After a visit by Chavez in March 2007, Venezuela and Cuba announced a $1 Billion fund to develop energy, health, and infrastructure in Haiti. As part of this deal, 4 power plants will be constructed in Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien, and Gonaives, increasing the country's power production by 160 MW by the end of 2007. An oil refinery will also be constructed in Haiti, with a production capacity of 10,000 barrels of oil per day. In the meantime, Venezuela has increased the amount of petroleum it provides Haiti to 14,000 barrels per day, at the same terms afforded to ALBA member countries - these terms are more favorable than the Petrocaribe terms.

Venezuela's assistance to Haiti is founded upon a historic act where the newly-independent Haiti welcomed and tended to first Francisco de Miranda, then to Simón Bolívar and provided both with military assistance in the liberation of much of South America. Haiti's Latin American alliance provides the country with much of its foreign aid.^{[citation needed]} Cuba has thanked Haiti for consistently voting in the United Nations General Assembly against the embargo put upon Cuba by the United States.

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Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Haiti

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Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of Haiti in the late 1980s; it employed approximately 66 percent of the labor force and accounted for about 35 percent of GDP and for 24 percent of exports in 1987. The role of agriculture in the economy has declined severely since the 1950s, when the sector employed 80 percent of the labor force, represented 50 percent of GDP, and contributed 90 percent of exports. Many factors have contributed to this decline. Some of the major ones included the continuing fragmentation of landholdings, low levels of agricultural technology, migration out of rural areas, insecure land tenure, a lack of capital investment, high commodity taxes, the low productivity of undernourished farmers, animal and plant diseases, and inadequate infrastructure. Neither the government nor the private sector invested much in rural ventures; in FY 1989 only 5 percent of the national budget went to the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Resources Naturelles et du Développement Rural--MARNDR). As Haiti entered the 1990s, however, the main challenge to agriculture was not economic, but ecological. Extreme deforestation, soil erosion, droughts, flooding, and the ravages of other natural disasters had all led to a critical environmental situation.^[2]

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Labor force

The labor force, as of 1995, was estimated at 3.6 million, but with a shortage of skilled labor.

Sources: CIA World Factbooks, Agency for International Development

Finding unemployment statistics from Haiti is very difficult because of the lack of publication of such data from the Haitian agencies in charge of collecting it. Most sources that we do have available come from United States agencies such as the Agency for International Development (USAID).

These numbers are highly speculative; many sources give vague ideas of the unemployment rating being (for example, in 2003) around 50%, giving the impression that the actual rate could be several percentage points higher or lower. Still, given that the sources of this data has remained the same for the past 15 years, we can at least see a trend of unemployment staying high throughout this period, but rising sharply in the mid to late 90's peaking at 70% in 1999 (2000 CIA World Factbook is the source for that number), and then decreasing to the usual rates of around 50% in recent years. We do not currently have data for the years since the political turmoil that resulted from the foreign financing of elite civil society groups, ex-military intervention, and Bush administration backed embargo on government aid to Haiti. The 2004 Haiti coup d'État and years of foreign backed destabilization increased unemployment. One of Haiti's largest trade unions, Confederation des Travailleurs Haïtiens, continually opposed the destabilization campaign waged against Haiti's elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide government. Trade union leaders point out that following the coup the international community and the illegal Latortue government backed a neo-liberal privatization plan for Haiti which laid off thousands of public sector workers. The Preval government, like it did in 1996, is now promoting a mass privatization campaign.

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Tourism and crime

Due to recent political instability, tourism - once a significant industry - has suffered in Haiti, with the exception of Labadee, a port located on the country's northern coast. Labadee is a resort owned by Royal Caribbean International. Although sometimes described in advertisements as an island in its own right, it is actually contiguous with the rest of Hispaniola. Labadee is fenced off from the surrounding area. The cruise ships anchor offshore, and passengers are tendered to the resort, often without being told they are in Haiti. Attractions include a Haitian Flea Market, traditional Haitian dance performances, numerous beaches, watersports, and a waterpark.^{[citations needed]}

Despite obstacles, Haiti's rich culture and history has allowed the country to maintain a moderate and potentially rising tourist industry.^{[citation needed]}

Though kidnappings have been increasing rapidly over the last year.^{[citation needed]} Despite this, Haiti has a very low murder rate in the Caribbean with a 2005 murder rate of approximately 11.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. The vast majority of the murders have taken place in the capital, and rural areas of the country are relatively safe compared to urban areas. The Dominican Republic's murder rate of approximately 26.7 per 100,000 inhabitants and Jamaica's regional-record murder rate of 62 per 100,000 inhabitants are extremely high compared to Haiti's.^[3]