hAITI'S HISTORY
Haiti has struggled politically since it gained independence in 1804. With government officials looking out for their best interests and neglecting the poor, little has been done to help the people of Haiti. This led to the US invading Haiti in 1915. US occupation has lead to a very strong link between the US and Haiti. The almost twenty years of occupation caused Haiti to rely on the US. The US occupation led to economic ties because it removed all European businesses and banking, replacing it with ones from the US. This has led to Haiti’s currency, the gourde, to be fixed in terms of the US dollar. After US occupation, there was an interim with a few presidents in Haiti, but none of them could truly gain power. Dr. Francois Duvalier took over Haiti in 1957 and ruled in a harsh manor but was able to centralize control to some extent. Francois Duvalier gave power to his son, Jean-Claude, when he died. Jean-Claude took power in 1971 and led the country vary similarly to his father. Because of unrest in the Haitian peoples in 1986, Jean-Claude fled the country, leaving a weak government that struggled to gain power. In 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president of Haiti in what was considered a fair election, but was ousted by the Haitian military. Urged by international pressure, the US invaded in 1994. Three weeks into the invasion, President Aristide returned to power in Haiti. Astride remained president until 1996, when there was a peaceful transfer of power to René Préval, who held power until 2001. In 2001, Aristide was reelected but went into exile in 2004 after the collapse of his government. This led to an interim government until 2006. The United Nations and other donors worked to get Haiti’s government back on track and elections were held again in 2006. The Haitian people reelected René Préval to a second term. In his second term, Préval made great progress in the country by making the government more transparent and starting to organize the government better. While progress was made, Haiti has still been held back. An earthquake in 2010 devastated Haiti, destroying many government buildings and killing multiple political figures. The next year, Haiti held another election in which Michel Martelly was elected president. His five-year term has been marked by disagreement between the legislative and executive branches.