Articles

Feuille de route d’Haïti : Un consortium guidé par le secteur privé peut-il assurer la sécurité, les élections et la réforme ?

Image
  Haiti’s Feuille de Route: Can a Private Sector-led Consortium Deliver on Security, Elections, and Reform? By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti’s transitional roadmap, adopted by the Presidential Council earlier this year, rests on three pillars: stabilizing security, organizing credible elections, and launching constitutional reform. On paper, these are state functions. In practice, the Haitian state is brittle, its institutions gutted by years of crisis, corruption, and capture. Into that vacuum steps an unlikely actor: the private sector. At the center is an alliance of Haitian business leaders who present themselves as a logistical backbone and coordination engine. The question, however, is not only whether they can deliver, but whether they can do so with legitimacy, accountability, and without repeating the sins of elite capture that have long fueled Haiti’s governance failures.   Security: Corridors, Not Sovereignty Haiti’...

Se souvenir de Bois Caïman peut-il guérir Haïti? L’unité exige de dire toute la vérité, aussi complexe soit-elle

Image
  Can Remembering Bois Caïman Heal Haiti? Unity demands telling the whole, complicated truth By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) Port-au-Prince, Aug. 14, 2025 Unity demands telling the whole, complicated truth — a revolution powered by enslaved rebels, shaped by free men with military training, and consolidated through brutal struggle — and pairing that history with the hard work of dignity, education and economic freedom. On Aug. 14, 1791, in a clearing known as Bois Caïman, hundreds of enslaved people vowed to fight for liberty. Whether one treats the ceremony as a precise historical event or as a symbol refined by memory, its meaning is unmistakable: a collective commitment to reclaim dignity. If we want that vow to guide Haiti today, we must pair the call to unity with an honest account of who we were — and how we prevailed. A Diverse Colony, Not a Monolith By the late 18th century, Saint-Domingue (colonial Haiti) was a rigidly unequal society — and a di...

Qui est Rosemila Petit-Frère ? Arrestation, politique et questions qu’ Haïti ne peut éviter

Image
  Who Is Rosemila Petit-Frère? The Arrest, the Politics, and the Questions Haiti Can’t Avoid By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) In the turbulent currents of Haitian politics, few names evoke as much intrigue — and division — as Rosemila Petit-Frère . Once celebrated as the determined mayor of Arcahaie , a historic commune famed for its role in Haiti’s flag conception, Petit- Frère built a reputation as a staunch opponent of former President Jovenel Moïse. She also built a business empire, including Télé Monopole , a media outlet she used to amplify her voice in a crowded political arena. But her career has also been shadowed by allegations of corruption, exile, and most recently, an arrest in the Dominican Republic that reignited debate over Haiti’s culture of political impunity. From Mayor to Political Outsider Petit-Frère’s tenure as mayor was marked by high-profile clashes with Moïse’s administration, positioning her as an emblem of resistance for some, ...

L’état d’urgence en Haïti : Course contre la montre mettant à l’épreuve le droit face à la guerre urbaine

Image
  Haiti’s State of Emergency: A Race Against Time Testing the Limits of Law in Urban Warfare By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson  (Le Français suit) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When the Haitian government declared a three-month state of emergency on August 9, 2025, it was not merely invoking a constitutional tool. It was, in effect, admitting that the normal machinery of governance had collapsed in the face of an urban war it could neither contain nor outlast. The measure, covering the West, Artibonite, and Centre regions — the breadbasket of the nation — comes at a time when armed groups have achieved not just territorial control but quasi-political authority. They levy taxes on roadways, regulate movement, and in some areas even stage public works, all while terrorizing residents through killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence. From a legal standpoint, Haiti’s Constitution does allow the executive to declare a state of emergency when national security is threatened. Yet th...

Avant de Crier Haro : Repenser l’Opposition à Laurent St-Cyr

Image
  Before Casting Stones: Rethinking the Outcry Against  Laurent St-Cyr By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) Port-au-Prince, August 6,  2025 . In a political landscape marked by volatility and deep mistrust, few figures rise to prominence without controversy.  Laurent St-Cyr, recently thrust into the national spotlight through his appointment to the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), has found himself at the receiving end of intense scrutiny. His nomination, seen by some as emblematic of elite capture and foreign influence, has ignited a flurry of criticism both on the airwaves and across social media platforms. The phrase “crier haro” — to denounce someone loudly and publicly — has taken on new meaning in Haiti’s charged political climate, and in the case of St-Cyr, it raises important questions: Are we right to sound the alarm so quickly? Or are we allowing reflexive suspicion to override sober analysis? A Technocrat in a Time of Turmoil ...