Brazils Stance within ABC
(Brazil soldiers with the UN aiding Haitians)
Brazil first infiltrated Haiti in 2005 alongside Argentina and Chile in efforts to stabilize Haiti. Their commitment to bringing economic and political stability in Haiti is an example of a post Cold War initiative. Their commitment to bringing peace to Haiti allowed these countries to establish a firm role in the Latin American powers, creating an advantage for cooperation strategies within multiple countries in Latin America. However, the collective efforts of these countries ultimately failed Haiti because of the lack of cooperation between the three countries.
“Seven years after joining MINUSTAH, Argentina, Brazil and Chile have been unable to coherently articulate their international development cooperation programs in Haiti.” - Lost in Translation
The lack of cooperation between the countries led to a rising problem in the effort to stabilize Haiti. Without the proper structure and communication,
Antecedents of ABC
The historical markings that form the basis of the ABC pact go back to 1915, when Brazil proposed ideas to stop an arms race between the three countries. In the 1980s, a new wave of democratism that engulfed Latin America promoted cooperation on foreign policies. The ABC countries discovered that it was empirical to use international cooperation to establish peacekeeping operations. g
The following table represents a list of the specific programs that thee ABC countries agreed to complete an effort to stabilize Haiti
Area | Project | Country | Budget |
Agriculture & food Security | Rural development of the north | Chile | 257,004 |
Management and reconstruction of the vegetable surface of the Mapou Basin | Brazil Spain | 644,290 | |
Promotion of durable production of legumes in the Kenscoff region | Brazil | 221,650 | |
Education | Centre for Professional Training | Brazil | 4,000,000 |
Education project for kindergartens | Chile | 215,264 | |
Association for the Development of Cite Soleil | Chile | 4,000 | |
Health | Medical assistance by America Solidaria | Chile, America, Solidara | 100,000 |
Technical assistance in animal health and sanitation inspections | Argentina | 10,400 | |
Justice | Fighting violence against women in Haiti | Brazil | 296,861 |
Public Finance | Technical operation in planning and public finance | Argentina | 290,000 |
Energy | Hydroelectric dam project in Plateau Central | Brazil | 190,000,000 |
Infrastructure | Repair of roads and avenues in Port-au-Prince | Brazil | 1,500,000 |
Security | Strengthening of Haitian National Police | Brazil | 520,000 |
(Feldmann and Lengyel, Lost in Translation page 50)
Although the countries evidently made official exchanges and declarations, it still lacked institutional and cooperative support. This lack of cooperation led to the overall failure of MINUSTAH, where the effort to restore Haiti into a stabilized country was deemed unsuccessful.
Brazil taking the Lead
In 2004, Brazil made an agreement with the United Nations to take the lead in MINUSTAH. Brazil saw this opportunity to enhance their status as a regional power and gain global respect. The government of Brazil felt the need to take on this important role to uphold the commitment of bringing international peace in South America.
Boys in Port-au-Prince playing soccer in front of a wall painted as the Brazilian flag.
Brazil was right about sending troops and assuming the military command of MINUSTAH because, in the first place, it was a mission decided by the UNSC, the only organ with the legitimacy to determine the presence of foreign troops in a sovereign country (Amorim 2007).
The recent turmoil and earthquake that struck Haiti in the early 2000s left a significant impact. Sending troops to Haiti to promote peace and stability left an immense impact on the people of Haiti. Haiti was significantly damaged, leaving thousands of families without any proper infrastructure and leaving them in extreme poverty. It was not until 2012 that Brazil and Haiti began negotiations to capture the progress that was needed to establish stability in Haiti.
Brazil found two solutions that would help aid the crisis that consumed Haiti.
Brazil would ultimately give our Humanitarian visas to Haitians so that they could live and work in Brazil to raise money for their families back home.
The Brazilian military will withdraw from Haiti. (Veronese 95).
The Humanitarian Purpose Visas that were approved by the Brazilian government proved to be a huge revolution for Haitians. The number of applications for the visa surpassed the expected number by almost a half, proving a huge success in Haiti.
A group of Haitians holding up their Humanitarian Visas approved by the Brazilian government after the 2010 Earthquake.
However, many Haitians found that their journey to Brazil was more difficult than expected. The initial process for approval took months before Haitans were able to work, where many refugees claimed to have spent their entire life savings on the trip. Once Haitians arrived to work in Brazil, financial integration was difficult to adjust to. Brazil had failed to accommodate the needs of thousands of Haitains and failed to provide a smooth banking transition. Many Haitains found themselves unable to open a bank account in Brazil without the proper documentation.
The Brazilian government evidently made an effort to help Haiti to stabilize their economic and political atmosphere, but failed to consider the actual resources that many Haitiaans needed in order to become a stable country. With the millions of dollars spent into Haiti, Brazil was unable to work collaboratively with Argentina, Chile, and the United Nations to provide a stable environment for Haiti. The involvement of the ABC countries in the Haitian crisis suggests an independent diplomatic agenda.
“ABC countries have done little to avoid contributing to creating a fragile, artificial peace in the country”. (Feldmann and Lengyel, Lost in Translation page 57).