Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) is a Haitian politician and former Roman Catholic priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, from 1994 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2004. Aristide's supporters laud him as "the first democratically elected leader of Haiti" and a friend of the poor. Critics claim that he became dictatorial and corrupt once in power, and he was twice overthrown, first in a military coup (September 1991) and subsequently in a rebellion in which former soldiers prominently participated (February 2004). After his second ouster, he maintained from exile in South Africa that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that U.S. forces had kidnapped him.
Education and church career
Aristide was born in Port-Salut, Haiti. He was educated at schools in Port-au-Prince and at the College Notre Dame, graduating in 1974. He then took a course of novitiate studies in La Vega before returning to Haiti to study philosophy at the Grand Seminaire Notre Dame and psychology at the State University of Haiti. After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, he travelled in Europe, studying in Italy and Israel. Aristide returned to Haiti in 1983 for his ordination.
He was appointed curate of a small parish in Port-au-Prince and then a larger one in the La Saline slums, gaining the affectionate Creole nickname "Titide" or "Titid" (tiny Aristide). An exponent of liberation theology, he became a leading figure in the more radical wing of the Catholic faith in Haiti (the ti legliz — from the Haitian Creole for "little church"), broadcasting his sermons on the national Catholic radio station. The Duvalier regime tried repeatedly to silence him. Only the collapse of the regime in April 1986 saved him. In September 1988, Aristide was expelled from his Salesian order for "incitement to hate and violence (and) the exaltation of class struggle."
In 1995 Aristide left the priesthood. In 1996 he married Mildred Trouillot, a U.S. citizen, with whom he had two daughters.
First presidency and coup
Following the violence at the abortive national elections of 1987, the 1990 polls were approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency and following a six-week campaign, during which he dubbed his followers "Lavalas" — "the flood" or "torrent" in Haitian Creole — the "little priest" was elected President with 67 percent of the vote.
Aristide won the presidential election in November 2000 with 91.8% of the vote. Most of the opposition parties boycotted this election, claiming that they had no fair chance. After the election, the Organization of American States issued a report that the election was unfair and that the methodology for counting votes was flawed. Aristide supporters have claimed that the OAS report was engineered by the U.S. solely based on hostility to the president's policies. They also have questioned why the organization waited until after the election results to challenge the methodology, saying it was aware of the vote-counting process beforehand. The International Organization of Independent Observers, a private volunteer organization, reported that the election went over smoothly and they witnessed no irregularities. However, the majority of Western governments claimed the election was blatantly rigged. In response, the Clinton administration worked with the European Union to block a $500 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti, fearing that Aristide's government was corrupt and the money would go to waste.
On February 7, 2001, Aristide was sworn in for his second term as President of Haiti. That same day, the CD swore in Gerard Gourgue as head of a new provisional government. Aristide agreed to reform the CEP, but he did not include any supporters of the opposition in the new body. Jean-Marie Cherestal was made the new Prime Minister in March 2001. The CD rejected both changes and in response the Government tried to have Gourgue arrested. The economy suffered as political control stalled. Aristide made moves to placate the opposition — in June 2001 certain senators holding contested seats resigned — but talks between the FL and the CD repeatedly failed. There was an attempted coup in mid-December 2001 and Cherestal resigned in January 2002, as the economy continued to slump.
Due to the objections of the opposition, elections were not held as scheduled in late 2003, and consequently the terms of most legislators expired in January, forcing Aristide to rule by decree. He promised to organize elections within six months, but the opposition refused to accept anything less than Aristide's resignation.
Aristide's opponents continued to accuse him of being corrupt and of using violence to attack political opponents. He maintained close ties not only to the Haitian police force, but also to street gangs such as the "Cannibal Army." His government built parks and facilities for the gangs in exchange for cooperation with his government. After the assassination of the leader of the Cannibal Army, Amiot Metayer, who had begun committing excessive acts of violence, that gang turned solidly against Aristide and joined the opposition.
In January 2004, political violence between Aristide supporters and supporters of the opposition escalated sharply, and on February 5, 2004, a rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, marking the beginning of a major revolt against Aristide. By February 22, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien, and effectively split Haiti between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. The rebellion, led by former Cap-Haïtien police chief Guy Philippe, has been referred to as a "military coup" by Aristide's lawyer, who claimed that the heavy weaponry used by the rebels were shipped in from the Dominican Republic. As the end of February approached, rebels continued to advance to within miles of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Departure from Haiti
In the early morning of February 29, 2004, after being harshly condemned by the governments of France and the United States, Aristide flew on a US-dispatched airplane to the Central African Republic. The circumstances surrounding this flight are a matter of controversy. Many media sources reported that Aristide had resigned and been refused asylum by South Africa.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) is a Haitian politician and former Roman Catholic priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, from 1994 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2004. Aristide's supporters laud him as "the first democratically elected leader of Haiti" and a friend of the poor. Critics claim that he became dictatorial and corrupt once in power, and he was twice overthrown, first in a military coup (September 1991) and subsequently in a rebellion in which former soldiers prominently participated (February 2004). After his second ouster, he maintained from exile in South Africa that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that U.S. forces had kidnapped him.