For about a decade, Haiti has been going through a period of profound political turbulence, exacerbated by the brutal assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. There have been no elections during these ten years. At the same time, there has been a continuous contraction of the national economy over the past seven years. This amounts to a true economic depression with staggering social repercussions. The political crisis and the economic depression feed off each other, plunging the country into a multidimensional crisis that affects institutions, governance, and severely deteriorates the population’s living conditions. Generalized insecurity and the proliferation of armed gangs are merely expressions of this dual crisis.

This is not a mere coincidence. There is, in fact, a causal link between the political crisis and the economic depression. The collapse of political institutions weakens the State’s ability to design and implement coherent and effective economic policies. The absence of elections and the resulting contestation of leaders’ legitimacy reduce the predictability necessary for both domestic and foreign investment. This chronic uncertainty prevents capital accumulation, slows entrepreneurial activity, and accelerates the flight of capital and human resources.