The Latin American Report # 170

Kenyan security mission to "rescue" Haiti derailed

The botched idea of sending a security mission from Kenya to tame the sprawling violence crisis in Haiti—primarily in the capital Port-au-Prince—appears to have completely collapsed, following a decision by the highest judicial authority in the African nation released on Friday. The Kenyan legislature had approved sending 1,000 police to lead a "multinational force", but a judge overruled the executive's authority to send troops abroad. "There is no dispute that there is no reciprocal agreement between Kenya and Haiti, and for that reason, there can be no sending of police to that country", said Chacha Mwita, who even said that the intention was "good". However, its execution was not conceived in the national constitutional order. The government of William Ruto will appeal the sentence, issued in response to a request of an opposition party, which is surely more interested in hitting the ruling one than in respecting the institutionality. So Haiti ends up being the ham in the middle of the sandwich.

The inoperative United Nations said that "(the) need for this multinational force authorized by the (Kenyan Security) Council remains extremely high". But this idea, as I advanced at the beginning, was born mortally wounded, starting with the fact that Kenya's ability to assist Haiti effectively is in doubt, as the country faces its problems, such as a wave of murders that has swallowed the lives of 14 women this month alone. And then we have the fact that history has shown that international missions to bring "peace" to this Caribbean nation mired in ignominy and oblivion have not been successful. The director of a local NGO—who welcomed the Kenyan High Court ruling—said that "(solutions) for Haiti, including strengthening the Haitian National Police and the military to quell the violence and restore some semblance of security, should be Haitian-led". Violent deaths last year were more than 120% higher than in 2022, reaching a shocking 4,800, for which dozens of gangs—which control, for example, 4/5 of Port-au-Prince—were mostly responsible.

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Radio stations in Haiti collapsed with calls from desperate citizens who were somehow hopeful about this so-called multinational force. Many of these Haitians surrendered to the deadly grip of crime are wondering what is next for them. They wonder, full of uncertainty and fear, where there is a glimmer of light to spur them on. Rather than a "failed state", we could say that the situation is tense enough to decree its absence. The already depressed National Police continues to bleed at "an alarming rate", with little capacity to respond to the tyranny of the gangs. More than 1,600 officers left their posts last year, while nearly 50 were killed. So surreal is it all that the firepower that the international community transferred to Haiti has been reduced by 55% during the heavy fighting with the criminals. A score of armored vehicles received in this way are "severely damaged", and seven "are permanently disabled", as reported by the UN this week. In this context, Marjorie Lamour, a Haitian mother in her 40s, keeps her most essential belongings close at hand so that it is easier for her to flee when the shooting starts. Feeding her kids "a meal once a day is hard enough"—another cancer, that of hunger there, which we haven't even touched on today—so she can only pray.

Argentina: the lives of the most vulnerable beyond the numbers

This week was marked by the call for a strike by Peronist—now in opposition—and left-wing organizations, which was carried out with opposite readings depending on the political force that interpreted it. The promoters of the action, aimed at rejecting two controversial regulations advanced by the Government, which even included the cancellation of about 270 flights of the state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas, claimed victory, while Javier Milei's team, allergic to social protest from both the discourse and the law, downplayed its importance. The very harsh and comprehensive adjustment promoted by the so-called ultra-libertarian president is at the center of the debate, due to its enormous impact on how Argentine society is organized from the political, economic, and social dimensions. The validity of part of the measures is suspended, while in Congress there is no clarity about the immediate future of a loaded and risky omnibus bill. In the last hours, the Pink House backed down on several of its key aspects, as is the case of the proposal that eliminated a formula to automatically increase—under certain conditions—the payment of retirees.

_{A view of the strike against Milei this week (source).}

According to experts, the impoverishment of real wages—a dynamic emerging from a fractious and accumulated inflation, but now propelled by the decisions of the Government of La Libertad Avanza—will mark the mood of the people. "The citizens' tolerance to the loss of purchasing power will be a key determinant in the social mood, and if the blow to the pocket is strong the citizenship could put on the back burner whether it is an inheritance or not", they warn, referring to the narrative that blames the previous Peronist administration for everything bad that is happening and what is about to happen as well. In this sense, the political consensus, which also comprises the level of governability that Milei can achieve in his relationship with the opposition in Congress, the governorships, and in the streets, is being constantly watched by the IMF, with whom the blue and white nation has a debt that involves walking in shackles, and which was very satisfied with the original fiscal adjustment proposal, now softened.

The humble pay for the adjustment

"There is a little more demand for food and attention in hospitals, but it does not have the extreme characteristics that some people are raising", affirmed a mayor, totally distant from the real and urgent needs of the vulnerable citizens. Beyond the figures and general reports, it is necessary to go to the life stories of the common people and make "an x-ray" to know what is going on inside. Activists denounce that many soup kitchens—where the poorest people go to receive subsistence food—cannot be sustained due to the lack of response from the federal government, and are planning for this Thursday to demand certain supermarkets—unprecedentedly, and I think more symbolic than practical—to donate food to guarantee a certain level of resources. Others point directly to Milei and threaten with new demonstrations, including street blockades, in a clear disregard for the controversial regulations issued by the "ultra-liberal" President. This week, the Government doubled the allowances to a food program that benefits a certainly vulnerable group—composed essentially by unemployed parents in charge of their children up to 14 years old, pregnant women, and certain people with disabilities—, but which does not include, for example, retirees and pensioners.

In Buenos Aires, the capital city, a militant of former President Macri's party—who voted for Milei, following the line defined by this right-wing caste to make Peronism plunge—manages a soup kitchen that offers food to some 360 people every day. She closed the waiting list because she can no longer supply the growing demand. People who "even looked the other way" at her canteen are now asking to come in, and those who are already there are asking for "a little more". Some neighbors ask for yerba mate to at least drink tea, while only their children eat at home. The government of the City of Buenos Aires is the only entity supplying Alejandra López's social program, who, although she does not regret her vote, did not project the rapid impact of Milei's measures. A street sweeper who goes to the soup kitchen with her husband and granddaughter says that "the money is not enough", and that she has to buy milk or yogurt "once in a while". She recognizes that Peronism made mistakes, but does not agree that "the poor should pay for the adjustment".

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.