A year ago Haiti was consumed by a serious political upheaval that could easily have led to civil war. After pressure from France, Canada and the US, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled, or was forced to leave, in order to avoid bloodshed. This paved the way for a transitional administration of technocrats, under the leadership of a former International Monetary Fund economist, Prime-Minister Gérard Latortue.
A government of national reconciliation has been temporarily installed to re-establish order, disarm the population, design a development programme, and prepare for municipal, legislative and presidential elections later this year.
