7. Social Conflict in Haiti: A Chronological Analysis based on Pre-electoral Press Releases on the occasion of the Presidential Election in 2015

Abstract

This paper proposes a chronological review of political and social affairs which took place in Haiti from April 2015 to February 2016. I focus on the conflictive and troubled Presidential and Parliamentary elections that were postponed several times in 2015, which have inevitably spread a veil of doubts about the aspirations of effective democracy and governance in the country. In particular, this paper questions the participation and interactions of agencies and intergovernmental / international organizations in this process due to their long-standing presence in the country.

The interrelationship between these organizations with various socio-political and economic conflict and processes constitute complex panorama.  Among these, there is i) an unfinished process and delayed withdrawal of the mission of UN peacekeeping (MINUSTAH); ii) a worsening of sanitary conditions and increased cases of cholera in early 2015; iii) a tense political and economic relations with the neighbouring country Dominican Republic; and iv) a fragile economic situation as result of a sustained rise in inflation and increasing of uncertainty about the future of the country's economy.

The paper is structured in four parts. Firstly, we present a brief methodological section about the systematization and analysis of national and international press regarding political contingency and the future of the unfinished presidential elections. Secondly, we present a historical review of the various election processes and the formation of the structure of political parties back to the 1987 Constitution. Thirdly, we present a chronological review of the appearance of socio-political milestones in the press from April 2015 to February 2016 based on the analysis. We then delve into how the press treats the issues discussed through a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis. For this purpose, data was collected considering the years in questions from a diverse range of international and national which was then analysed using the corpus linguistics software AntConc. Finally, we explore tentative conclusions according to the analysis of key discourses and emphasis used in the press about the conflict, leading to an interpretation of possible political projections for 2016.