Black In Latin America: Haiti and the Dominican Republic - A Prime Minister Is Elected

After watching the most recent video segment of Black in Latin America, I was struck by the story of Haiti, and I went searching for something interesting to write about Haiti. I found a very interesting article on CNN about progress in Haiti that corresponded well with some of the ideas of progress we have been talking about in class. What follows is a summary of the article, which can be found here.

For a country that in recent years has had little to celebrate, there has been a recent event that stands as a bright spark in Haiti's modern history. After a debate lasting seven hours, Garry Conille was ratified as the Haitian prime minister by the Haitian senate. The two previous suggestions for prime minister of Haiti, made by President Michel Martelly, had been denied, and Martelly said that this ratification of a prime minister marked a step forward in the movement for change.

Conille is easily qualified for this position, as he is a former aide to Bill Clinton, and a United Nations development specialist. As someone who understands international relations very well, he will surely be able to help Haiti, a country that depends on the generosity of the international community. It won't be entirely easy, though, from here on out because Conille and Martelly now have to find someone with the financial mind to put into action, realistically in a financial sense, the developmental ideas that Conille will no doubt be bringing to the table. It's a good start, the ratification of the prime minster, and a step in the right direction, but the Haitian government needs to remember - I'll stretch this metaphor just a bit further - to keep on walking in the same direction while continuing to watch the path that it is on, and the path that it has taken so far.