The Political Trajectory of "Sweet Micky"

SWEET MICKY FOR PRESIDENT - TRAILER from Something Kreative Studios on Vimeo.

On the same month that Haiti dissolved its parliament and President Michael Martelly announced some controversial Cabinet appointments, the film 'Sweet Micky for President' received two top awards for Best Documetnary at Park City’s Slamdance festival. What do the two events have to do with each other? They both feature  Michael Martelly as a leading character.

For the news about the political developments in Port-au-Prince, we invite you to read  this week's edition of NotiCen because this blog post is all about the documentary.  In a nutshell, this is what the documentary is all about.

"Music and politics collide when international music star Pras Michel of the Fugees returns to his homeland of Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 2010 to mobilize a presidential campaign for Haiti’s most controversial musician: Michel Martelly aka Sweet Micky. The politically inexperienced pair set out against a corrupted government, civil unrest and a fixed election. When Pras’ former bandmate - superstar Wyclef Jean - also enters the presidential race, their chances seem even further doomed. But despite the odds, they never give up on their honest dream of changing the course of Haiti’s future forever."

As a first time director, Ben Patterson received an abnormally high level of acclaim for the film.  However, the debut of his film at Slamdance last month had  many people in and out of the political world talking about Haiti, particularly about the current president, Martelly. Slamdance  is a ‘cousin’ festival to Sundance that features films which fall outside of Sundance’s elite lineup,

To learn how Martelly came to run for president, it is useful to review some background history. This history is depicted in the documentary Sweet Micky for President. In 2011, following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, Patterson accompanied his friend Pras Michel, a former member of the legendary hip hop trio the Fugees, on a trip to the Caribbean nation.

Patterson initially captured Pras’ frustration with the state of affairs in his native country. The  documentary took a different twist when Pras decided to encourage his friend, a wildly popular Haitian musician, to join the several dozen candidates running in the Haitian presidential race.  Michel Martelly (also known by his stage name “Sweet Micky”) had been a billboard staple in Haiti since the 1980s, and was known for his wild stage-presence. However, he was also known for his pointed, often poetic lyrics that criticized the government. Off of the stage, Martelly had been a vocal figure in Haitian popular culture and politics, speaking out strongly against former leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide and supporting the coup that overthrew him.

Pras drummed up support for Martelly’s campaign not only from his longtime musical partner and Haitian-born friend, Wyclef Jean, but also from Hollywood stars such as Sean Penn and from a powerful US couple:  Bill and Hilary Clinton.

“Sweet Micky for President” tells the almost unbelievable story of the rise of a politically-minded pop star to the presidency of one of the world’s most troubled nations. Surely, it is one of those stories that even the most seasoned authors of fictional screenplays could never make up, a story that involves intense poverty, massive international aid projects, American hip hop stars. And let us not forget the role of the Clintons and political rival Aristide, a popular Haitian figure in his own right.  When “Sweet Micky” entered office in 2011, it was the first time in Haitian history that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to a member of the opposition.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Feb. 4-6

• Argentina Crisis Peaks Following Death of Prosecutor Investigating 1994 Bombing of Jewish Community Center
• Mexico Announces Budget Cuts in Response to Global Oil Slump
• Bolivian President Starts Third Term by Touting Past Accomplishments
• Chinese Developer Breaks Ground on Controversial Nicaragua Canal Project
• Judge Rejects Lawsuit by French Citizen Florence Cassez Against ex-President Felipe Calderón, Others

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Is the Proposed Nicaragua Canal Scientifcally Sound?

You've heard the expression "the devil is in the details." Details about President Daniel Ortega's ambitious cross-country canal have been scarce, even though Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional approved the project two years ago and HKND (Hong Kong Nicaraguan Canal Development Investment Company) was chosen as the developer in mid-2013.  

While there was skepticism, opponents--and supporters--did not know how to react to the waterway--known as the Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua (GCIN)--except in the vaguest of terms. The Ortega administration did offer some information about the project nearly a year before the actual route was released by HKND. But hen the government was confronted with the question of why officials failed on such a high level to consult with any of the communities involved, they explained that because the route was yet unknown, they could not consult with any communities in particular.

This fall,  HKND  released details of the project,including the exact route is for the waterway that will connect the Caribbean to the Pacific Oceans. This information has allowed  scientists and environmental researchersto publish their first informed assessments of the project. Both the Academia de Ciencas de Nicaragua  (ACN) and Centro Humboldt, a leading non-government environmental research center based in Managua, have highlighted the immense environmental, and socioeconomic repercussions that will inevitably result from the construction of the Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua (GCIN).

The ACN report argues that the project will cause incredible damage to biodiversity and natural and  aquifers as well infringe as the collective rights and well-being of many communities, including some that reside within protected, semi-autonomous regions. There is a “Message to the Nation” in the final section, which explains that the ACN “applauds all efforts for national economic development,” but also also urgently recommends “that such national projects should always pay close attention to all possible unintended consequences… and to follow the suggestions of relevant environmental, social and economic studies of impact.”

Without explicitly opposing the concept of the canal, the ACN report directs its criticisms at the specific plan proposed by HKND and brings the Chinese firm and the Nicaraguan government to task for failing to heed suggestions from environmental experts and community leaders.

A separate  report published by Víctor Campos, sub-director of Centro Humboldt, provides further information about the obvious and prolonged impacts that the canal will inevitably have on the fresh water supply in Lago de Nicaragua as well as the fragile biodiversity in the Cerro Silva Natural Reserve, an area that is also home to indigenous communities. These communities were not consulted despite the plan’s stipulations for the right to acquire whatever land HKND finds necessary.

At the end of Campos’ response, he too makes no explicit opposition to the idea of a canal in general, but leaves the nation with a list of suggestions and conclusions that include,”1. The best route will not pass through the Lago de Nicaragua; 2. That there has been a decision made at the National level to systemically ignore the voices of qualified scientists and experts; and 3. Eventually, Nicaraguans will be able to influence the decisions of the nation, but as of now, they will not be able to influence the decisions of this company and their enterprise.”

Both reports, which come from science-based entities, made the point that, aside from the proven and inevitable environmental and socioeconomic repercussions of the construction, much of the current problem lies outside the realm of science and environmental research itself. Both reports suggest the problem lies in the lack of transparency in the process. The national government and HKND failed to  make crucial information available to the public, failed to consult with the communities that will be directly displaced and affected, and ignored loud opposition from experts in scientific research.

-Jake Sandler


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The Debate over Tax Reform in El Salvador

Street vendor in El Salvador (Wikimedia Commons)O

Economists, opposition lawmakers and San Salvador's conservative conservative daily El Diario de Hoy have expressed strong objections to the new tax reform approved in El Salvador this summer.

A central goal of the the reform promoted by Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén is to increase taxes on the wealthier contributors to provide the government with new revenues to boost expenditures on social services, education and community facilities. Th reform is is projected to raise the government an additional US$160 million annually. Read more from Benjamin Witte-Lebhar in this week's issue of NotiCen. (This move to boost taxes on wealthier contributors to allow the government to boost spending on social programs is strikingly similar to the argument that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto made when pushing his tax-reform plan in Mexico at the end of 2013).

Critics contend the tax hike will not only affect the wealthier taxpayers and the larger businesses, but small and medium-sized ones as well, and will effectually diminish their ability to grow and hire more workers. This, in turn, would create a negative ‘trickle-down’ effect that will hit even the poorest sectors of the economy. El Diario de Hoy, for example, argues in an editorial that that the pupuseras who sell stuffed tortillas on street corners and the minuteros (who peddle cell phone minutes) on the streets as well as the small store owners would be the ones paying for the nation’s new tax plan. The bottom line, says the editorial, is that  that, despite the popular belief that this tax reform was created so “those who earn the most will pay the most," the new system will have an effect on everyone, not just the wealthy elite.

Palacio Nacional, San Salvador

This argument is a classic and well-worn debate over the benefits of supply-side economics, and has served as a fundamental roadblock to socialist reform throughout Latin America, and elsewhere, for decades. President Sánchez Cerén, in contrast, refers to these opposing opinions as untruthful tactics to rally the public against the reform. 

There is also a debate about managing the economy in Panama, where conservative president Juan Carlos Varela is facing criticism from other conservative politicians for pushing through a measure to control food prices. Despite an inflation crisis that has driven the price of basic foodstuffs up more than 30%, members of the Cambio Democrático (former President Ricardo Martinelli's party) have hesitated to support the measure, citing possible side effects that include food shortages, black markets and even rioting and destruction of property. Read more from Louisa Reynolds in this week's edition of NotiCen.

  -Jake Sandler 

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for June 12-14

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for April 17-19

Bolivia Continues Nationalization Policy

In mid-February, the Bolivian government authorized a new nationalization, continuing the process that President Evo Morales has claimed is necessary and indispensable since he headed the organized coca growers long before becoming president. This time it was the turn of SABSA, which in 1997 had been given a 25-year contract to manage the country's 37 airports. SABSA is wholly owned by TBI, the company acquired in 2005 by Spanish-owned Abertis and AENA.  Andrés Gaudín   Read More

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Launches Bid For Second Term

Back home after a several-year hiatus abroad, former President Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010) has made a late--though not altogether unexpected--leap into Chile’s presidential race. The last to join the country’s crowded field of contenders, the popular ex-president nevertheless begins her quest for a second term as the clear favorite. Elections are scheduled to take place Nov 17. Bachelet officially launched her bid on March 27, just hours after returning to Chile from the US, where she spent two and one-half years as head of the New York City-based UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Benjamin Witte-Lebhar  Read More

Education Reform Runs into Resistance from Teachers in Poorer States

A portion of the rank-and-file membership of the teachers’ union (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, SNTE) are displeased with the recent overhaul of Mexico’s public-education system, and this discontent has taken the form of demonstrations in Guerrero and Oaxaca states and other areas. The education reform changes the Constitution to transfer important functions from the SNTE to the Secretaria de Educación Pública (SEP), including the evaluation, promotion, and training of teachers. Under the reform, teachers would be promoted based on merit and aptitude, while the old system allowed the SNTE to use patronage and other methods to decide promotions. Carlos Navarro  Read More

Guatemala Demands That Belize Change Date for ICJ Referendum

Guatemala has complained that a change in Belize’s Referendum Act requiring a 60% threshold of voter participation for the vote to be deemed valid will place the two countries on an unequal footing in the forthcoming referendum, scheduled to take place on Oct. 6, since Guatemalan law has no such requirement. Belizeans and Guatemalans will be asked: "Do you agree that any 

Guatemalan claim on Belizean continental and insular territory as well as maritime areas belonging to those territories should be taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) so that the issue can be definitely resolved and the court can establish the two countries’ respective borders?" Both countries require a "yes" vote in this referendum to take their long-standing border dispute to the ICJ in The Hague. Louisa Reynolds  Read More

Major Stumbling Block to Improving Security in Honduras, Cleaning Out Police, Difficult at Best

Weeding out dirty cops--at all levels--has proven to be, at best, a difficult enterprise for Honduran authorities in their announced move to purge the Policía Nacional (PN). Civil society sectors skeptical of the measure have signaled it as a failure, something the very institution in charge of shaping up the much-discredited force admits. But, in its defense, the Dirección de Investigación y Evaluación de la Carrera Policial (DIECP) claims that the failure derives from elements beyond its responsibility--such as lack of funds or the Secretaría de Seguridad not firing corrupt cops. George Rodríguez   Read More

Russia Bans Some Imports of Mexican Beef Because of Concerns about Use of Harmful Substance in Cattle

A trade conflict between Mexico and Russia regarding the alleged use of a banned substance in Mexican meat has caused some friction between the two countries. Effective April 8, Russia banned almost all imports of Mexican beef because of concerns that Mexican producers had not complied with a commitment to refrain from using the animal-feed additive ractopamine, used to promote leanness in animals raised for their meat. The use of ractopamine is prohibited in more than 100 countries, including members of the European Union, China, and Taiwan, because of concerns that residues of the stimulant could affect the health of consumers. The livestock industries in the US, Canada, and Brazil are the largest users of ractopamine. Carlos Navarro  Read More