POLITICAL TRANSITIONS IN HAITI: THE SLOW POISON OF THE REPUBLIC
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince · · 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
Haiti, from its independence to today, seems condemned to relive the same scenario: the ephemeral rise of so-called “transition” governments, meant to liberate the Republic, but which end up plunging it further into chaos. More than fifty of these regimes, known by various names (provisional government, collegial government, executive council of government, national council of government, presidential transition council, etc.) have marked our history, and each has left behind a country weaker, more divided, and more vulnerable.
Under the guise of preparing elections or restoring order, these ephemeral powers often transform into veritable machines for squandering public resources. Autonomous directors, Ministers, advisors, provisional presidents, or members of transition councils take advantage of their brief tenure to quickly enrich themselves, as if the State were merely an ATM for instant fortunes. This organized plunder occurs at the expense of public services, education, health, and the future of coming generations.
Meanwhile, the economy suffocates. Investments collapse, jobs disappear, and shady contracts are signed in the shadows, committing the country to debts and unfavorable agreements for decades. Foreign powers, for their part, observe, intervene, and manipulate. Under the pretext of “helping” or “stabilizing” the situation, they impose their agenda, dictate economic and security policies tailored to their interests, and ensure that Haiti remains under informal tutelage.
The truth is brutal: every failed transition is a victory for internal and external predators, and a defeat for the nation. As long as we accept provisional governance as a license to plunder, as long as we tolerate a lack of accountability, we will remain prisoners of a cycle of instability that benefits only a minority.
It is time to break with this culture of the ephemeral. Haiti will not recover by multiplying improvised transitions, but by building solid, respected, and respectable institutions capable of resisting personal ambitions and foreign interference. Without this, each new provisional government will be just another step towards the abyss.
Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet
