Video External debt of Haiti
Saint-Domingue
Haiti was once the richest colony in the New World. Under French rule, between 1697 and 1804, 800,000 West African slaves were taken to what became known as Saint-Domingue to work on large estates that produced sixty percent of French and British coffee and three quarters of the world's sugar. Not only are the accounts of Saint-Domingue for one-third of the whole African slave trade, but the conditions in which they live and are treated are known as some of the most violent. The population of Saint-Domingue reached 520,000 in 1790, and of 425,000 it was a slave.
Maps External debt of Haiti
Debt independence
The relics of Haitian debt began immediately after gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1825, France, with a warship at the ready, demanded that Haiti compensate France for the loss of its slaves and colonies. In return for France's recognition of Haiti as a sovereign republic, France demands payment of 150 million francs. In addition to payments, France requires that Haiti discount the goods exported to them by 50%. In 1838, France agreed to reduce its debt to 90 million francs to be paid over 30 years to compensate former plantation owners who had lost their property. A modern equivalent of $ 21 billion was paid from Haiti to France.
The transfer of wealth from Haiti to the French government and from Haiti to the various banks that finance the Debt of Independence is well established. The detailed claims, filed by previous slave owners for compensation, including the value of money from "missing" slaves, and which form the basis for the demands of the French government have been documented.
Likewise, the Ordinance of 1825 and its negotiation account have survived.
The French government finally recognized the payment of 90,000,000F in 1893. It took until 1947 for Haiti to finally pay off all the related interest of the debt. The first payment story - 24,000,000 gold francs - was transported across Paris, from Ternaux Gandolphe et Cie's safe into the coffers of the French Treasury recorded in detail. Historians have been searching for loan documents since the Ordinance of 1825, through refinancing efforts, until the last remittance to National City Bank in 1947.
Duvalier Debt
From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was ruled by a corrupt and oppressive Duvalier family. Loans that occurred during this period alone are estimated to account for about 40% of Haitian debt in 2000, before debt relief is granted. These funds are used to strengthen the Duvaliers' control over Haiti and various fraudulent schemes. A large number were stolen by Duvaliers.
Initiatives to cancel Haiti's debt
Jubilee USA, Jubilee Debt Campaign (UK) and others, called for immediate cancellation of Haitian debt to multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Inter-American Development Bank, based on the argument that this debt is unjust a legal term called odious debt) and that Haiti could use its funds better to go to debt services for education, health care, and basic infrastructure.
The Debt Cancellation Resolution of Haiti has 66 sponsors in the US House of Representatives in February 2008.
Some organizations in the US issued warnings about Haiti Resolution Cancellation Resolution, and a letter of Congress to the US Treasury, including Jubilee USA, Institute of Justice & amp; Democracy in Haiti and Pax Christi USA.
Debt cancellation
Haiti has a total external debt of $ 1.8 billion at its peak. Between 2006 and 2009, Haiti was added to the initiative of the heavily indebted poor World Bank and IMF (HIPC). In September 2009, after a program of economic and social reform, Haiti qualified to complete the HIPC program, qualifies for the cancellation of its foreign debt obligations. This cuts the face value of $ 757 million of debt and future debt services (including interest) of $ 1.2 billion.
Haiti's biggest creditor, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is part of the debt relief initiative, but the initiative simply canceled loans made before 2005, and the IDB has lent more since then. Haiti's debt to the IDB amounts to about half a billion dollars with repayment of debt payments projected by the IMF to increase in subsequent years. The US government has paid this debt service on behalf of Haiti since before the earthquake.
With the devastating impact of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, there was renewed pressure for further debt cancellation from civil society groups. Given the tragedies and new loans that raised Haitian debt back to $ 1.25 billion, groups like the Jubilee Debt Campaign called for this debt to be dropped. Furthermore, during the emergency money after being offered to the Haitian government from the IMF in the form of loans. Civil society groups are protesting the loan offer and are not providing grants to a heavily indebted country trying to cope with the destruction. Some argue, however, that because the annual payments on Haitian debt payments are very low ($ 9 million a year, net of debt services paid in the name of Haiti by the US government), canceling the debt will do little to help the country recover from an earthquake, and should not a priority for activism.
Agence France Press reported on January 26, 2010 that President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela said that Petrocaribe, Venezuela's cheap regional energy alliance, would forgive Haiti's debt. Haiti's debt to Venezuela is $ 295 million, about a quarter of its foreign debt of $ 1.25 billion, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund.
On May 28, 2010, the World Bank announced it had exempted the remaining debt of Haiti to the bank. The value of waiver is $ 36 million.
See also
- Developing country debt
- Haitian controversial controversy
References
External links
- Haiti: Enhanced Initiative for Heavy Poor Countries - Settlement Document Points
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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