Haiti: Tailor-Made for South-South Cooperation

With a history of colonization, debt, US trade boycotts and domestic corruption, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Recent natural disasters, including hurricanes, storms and the 2010 earthquake compounded the challenges. Writing for the Guardian, Jonathan Glennie recommends that Haiti explore South-South cooperation, adding that “no amount of aid from the west can make up for the harm done to the prospects of this once bountiful country.” Traditional donors could finance the work, but emerging economies that have also endured exploitation might be better qualified to lead development efforts. “Big brothers such as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela may well engage in the right kind of rhetoric, but there are internal pressures in these countries to act in their own interests rather than Haiti's – especially on agricultural issues – just as the west has always done,” Glennie notes. He concludes that emerging powers cannot do much more harm than the West has already done. – YaleGlobal