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Photo: Protest last year demanding Jovenel Moïse’s resignation. Credit: Alba Movimientos
Dec. 16 is the 30th anniversary of the first free and democratic election in Haitian history. In 1990, anti-imperialist liberation theologian Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the left-wing party Fanmi Lavalas were elected to power with mass support (67 percent) on a program of guaranteeing social rights for the working class. Less than one year later, a U.S.-backed coup ousted Aristide and installed a military dictatorship that murdered thousands of Haitians and attempted to stifle the mass energy behind the Lavalas movement. After being re-elected in 2000, Aristide was again ousted by a U.S.-backed coup in 2004. Only last year was Haiti finally relieved of the U.S. troops that had been patrolling the streets to contain the revolutionary fervor since the ousting.