Haiti’s Battered Runoff Replay
As Hurricane Matthew devastation lingered in a large swathe of the island outside Port au Prince, Haiti’s chronically delayed presidential election was finally held with just 20 percent turnout, but a winning 55 percent voting share by the former incumbent’s designated successor, banana farmer J. Moise. The second place candidate Celestin was 35 points behind and again alleged widespread fraud that will be investigated in a partial result audit. His victory was slimmer in the original 2015 contest that was annulled after violent protests and rigging suspicions, and the opposition Lavalas party has indicated a willingness to cooperate after such a prolonged confrontation in part to rebuild after the latest natural disaster, which has overwhelmed UN relief pledges. The IMF offered a no-interest $40 million emergency facility and estimated damage at one-fifth of GDP. The 2010 earthquake which leveled the capital wreaked far greater destruction calculated at $8 billion but also a commensurate aid response, although the government and partners jointly admit to ineffective coordination that has left thousands still living in makeshift tent cities and a 60 percent poverty rate in the hemisphere’s poorest country. One-fifth the budget still comes from international assistance and the $2 billion remittance lifeline is double exports and FDI together. Officials set up a new centralized reconstruction agency to guide efforts into the next administration, and President-elect Moise intends to prioritize agriculture, corruption and climate change. He was previously head of the local chamber of commerce, and was favored by influential families with large industrial and financial holdings in the race while campaigning as a political novice outsider. His farming enterprise had close ties to former President Martelly, but unlike other allies he avoided scandal taint and criminal gang rivalry. His experience with foreign investors was limited but over the past year and a half speeches seemed to extend promotional efforts which may be smaller-scale than showpieces like the US and Inter-American Development Bank-backed Caracol free trade park, which failed to generate promised employment and infrastructure.
Cuba and Venezuela have been allies, but their influence has waned with their own economic setbacks and leadership transitions. Fidel Castro’s death at 90 highlighted the grim competitive and growth outlook after years of incremental reforms pushing hundreds of thousands to private sector small ventures, while keeping the main commodities and tourism mainstays under comprehensive state control. Exchange rate unification does not feature on the near-term agenda despite urgent foreign business pleas, and the US embargo may now remain in place under President Trump, who assigned a staunch advocate to his Treasury Department planning team. Cuban secondary debt and the closed-end Herzfeld fund prices jumped after the leader’s passing was announced but soon settled at previous ranges with marginal GDP growth forecast this year and likely economic and diplomatic impasses ahead, aggravated by the withdrawal of Caracas’ support as President Maduro’s regime clings to survival. He removed 100 bolivar notes from circulation in an effort to curb smuggling and hyperinflation estimated at 500 percent, on 10 percent output contraction and a 25 percent of GDP fiscal deficit. The state oil company completed a short-term bond swap to avoid default and had to sweeten initial terms as the government also relaxed bank reserve requirements for allocation to strengthen shelter.
