PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Thousands of young Haitians spent 2019 on the streets, demanding President Jovenel Moise resign over his government’s failure to prosecute years of unbridled corruption that siphoned billions in international aid into bank accounts overseas. Haiti’s parliament shut down indefinitely in January because of the chaos, eliminating the check on presidential power that paralyzed Moise for years. But the reed-thin former banana farmer looks nothing like the strongmen of Haiti’s past. With weak political support at home and an international community wary of democratic backsliding, Moise has issued no significant decrees and billions in development aid is blocked. In the city below, gangs rule entire neighborhoods and a wave of kidnappings is terrifying ordinary Haitians.

Source: International New York Times February 13, 2020 17:15 UTC