Passing Milestones: Political and Economic Renewal in Haiti‪.‬

IN OCTOBER 1994, democracy returned to Haiti and our nation moved from death to life. As the guns were silenced and the rule of law restored, Haitians poured into the streets to celebrate freedom and their renewed opportunity to participate in the democratic life of the nation. With the inauguration of a new president in February, Haiti passed a second milestone: for the first time in its history, Haiti experienced a peaceful transition from one democratically-elected head-of-state to another. For 200 years, power transfers occurred when an individual or group seized rule from an equally illegitimate regime. But 10 years to the day that Jean-Claude Duvalier fled Haiti, the nation's second democratically-elected president took office, demonstrating that Haiti's move to democracy is irreversible. Despite these achievements, the Haitian people know that the success of democracy is measured not only by elections but also by the degree to which a democratic government responds to the needs of its people. Today the Haitian people are asking for the establishment of a state of law, justice, jobs, food, literacy, education, health care, and an end to corruption within the state. To meet these needs Haiti must complete the process of building a state of law and bring to justice those who violated human rights during the coup regime. Moving beyond political and legal reform, the nation must also remove economic and social barriers which keep the majority of Haitians in abject poverty. And finally the nation must institutionalize the participation of the people in the governance of the nation.