A US CEO makes a bid to run Haiti (C.S. Monitor)

[Up2Late]

(Well, here it is. If you have been as confused as I was about what was REALLY going on in Haiti, this artical explaines a lot.)

World > Americas
from the August 18, 2005 edition

A US CEO makes a bid to run Haiti

A Haitian-American Wednesday said he will run for president.
By Danna Harman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Dumarsais Siméus, the most successful Haitian-American businessman in the US today, is going home to run for president of Haiti. "I wanted my fellow native sons and daughters of the Artibonite Valley to hear it from me first.... I am a candidate for president of Haiti," Mr. Siméus, the son of illiterate peasants, announced Wednesday in his rural hometown of Pont-Sondé. "Today marks the start of a new beginning for our country ... in a time of crisis."

After months of speculation, the CEO of one of the largest black-owned businesses in the US told supporters he will start campaigning for the November election, the first since Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted following a violent rebellion in February 2004.

"What a contender!" says James Morrell, director of the Haiti Democracy Project in Washington. "Here is the richest and most successful Haitian around - running to lead a country where nothing works. This has to look awfully good. Here is evidence of someone who can get things done...."

(clip)

...Today, he is CEO of Siméus Foods International, Inc. based in Mansfield, Texas, the largest minority-owned businesses in that state, according to Black Enterprise magazine. It does some $160 million in yearly sales to such customers as Denny's, T.G.I. Friday's and Burger King. He runs his own foundation, sending money to help poor communities in Haiti, and he sits on Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's Haiti Task Force. His parents, who once sold a plot of land so as to be able to send their eldest of 12 children to college in the US, still live in Haiti.

<http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0818/p01s02-woam.html>
(more at link above)

[TahitiNut]

1. It sounds like the Corporate Colonialists have found their Puppet Leader.

:puke:

[daleo]

2. Democracy = an oligarch, and a slight constitutional problem

"Even if the vote goes ahead, under the current interpretation of the Constitution, Siméus would be ineligible to run.

Article 135 of the Haitian Constitution states a presidential candidate must "be a native-born Haitian and never have renounced Haitian nationality," and have resided in the country for five consecutive years before the election. Siméus, 65, has taken US citizenship, and has been living in the US for 44 years.

But in a phone interview Wednesday, Simeus disagreed: "I don't have anything to overcome in terms of the Constitution or getting on the ballot. I never renounced my citizenship....My residence has been listed here ever since I was born. I have been fortunate to have other homes and other citizenships, but I never gave up my Haitian ones.""

[Kagemusha]

5. If his story checks out then yes, that's perfectly legal

Most countries aren't as uptight about dual citizenship as the US...

[daleo]

8. Well, the residence thing would certainly be a dodge

For a position of this importance, I would think a sovereign country would want someone who resided continuously. Its a moot point, though - since the U.S. (and others including Canada) invaded Haiti and have stationed occupation troops there, it is hardly sovereign any more.

[thoughtanarchist]

3. I'm still confused...

I never saw very much info on what really happened there...

The article says is that Aristide was "ousted" in a "violent rebellion" in feb '04 and "fled the country"

I remember that there were "armed militants swarming the capitol"...

I remember that there were US forces conveniently in place to whisk Aristide away "to safety"...

I remember Aristide voice his belief that he had been kidnapped and removed from Haiti perhaps as part of the coup.

I have heard pretty much nothing in the media on the situation in a long time.

I wonder if Aristide be running for his old office as well? He seemed to be a popular figure several years before the regime change. I'd like to see an interview that gives his account on what happened and what is happening...

[K-W]

6. Aristide is in exile, he cannot run. EOM

[bananas]

11. DemocracyNow! and Flashpoints

Amy Goodman and Dennis Bernstein did a lot of reporting on it.
Dennis Bernstein is covering current events there,
I haven't been following it but something is going on now.
He's live on kpfa.org at 5pm PST, or anytime at flashpoints.net

The Flashpoints archives of the Haiti coup are at:
http://www.flashpoints.net/archive/archive-2004-Haiti.html

The DemocracyNow! archives are at:
http://www.democracynow.org/browsebydate.pl?year=2004&month=02
http://www.democracynow.org/browsebydate.pl?year=2004&month=03

Amy travelled with Aristide on his way back to the Caribbean:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/15/1615213
"Amy Goodman has been traveling with Aristide, his Haitian-American wife Mildred, and the delegation of US and Jamaican officials that accompanied the Aristides to Jamaica, which has offered to temporarily host them. Goodman is one of only two journalists that traveled with Aristide."

[Judi Lynn]

19. Great links! Thanks for sharing them. n/t

[Up2Late]

25. Yeah thanks, I'll have to check them out too.

I've been having trouble finding info about the REAL motives of the "Haiti coupe."

[thoughtanarchist]

26. Thanks from over here too!

I didn't understand the environment there and I think this (via your links) is one of the only places where I actually get an answer!

I feel so isolated with the way our media disregards world news in favor of fluff pieces on missing cute white chicks.

[MisterP]

12. two words: "machete gangs"

Aristide had the temerity to not privatize everything or allow crack runners, so he had to go.

[bvar22]

14. It wasn't a "rebellion". It was an invasion....

...that was staged from across the border in the Dominican Republic. The invaders were equiped with brand new US weaponry, wearing brand new fatigues, and driving American jeeps.

[K-W]

15. And the US security forces, who Aristide had no choice but to rely on,

were ordered not to defend the elected government against the anti-democratic coup, proving exactly why it is that we insisted they allow us to guard thier democracy.

[bleedingheart]

4. a coworker of mine has a brother in an aid agency in Haiti

she visited him there...came back shocked at the deplorable conditions they live in...

[Judi Lynn]

7. Bush will make sure any candidate who has the support of the people

will be prevented from running. They supported Aristide. Still do.

This is horrid.

Our right-wing Presidents couldn't have been happier with the butcher Francois Duvalier. Kept him in power for so long, while he ruled Haiti by terror.

[Demeter]

9. And How Much Did Simeus and His Minions Contribute

to George W. Bush and the GOP, who so conveniently ran Aristide out of town with their paid and armed mercenaries?

[tkmorris]

13. Well, Simeus himself....

donated $500 to George Bush in 2004 according to Open Secrets. http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?txtName=Simeus+&NumOfThou=0&txt2004=Y&submit=Go%21

[President Jesus]

21. He also donated to Hillary

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?xst=NJ&last=Sim%E9us

opensecrets is great, but it only gives you a few years at a time. The newsmeat search engine gives you all data at once.

[Tyranny_R_US]

10. He's the CEO of WHAT?

I'm looking at their website (www.simeusfoods.com) looks like they spent their $160 Million well :sarcasm:

[Up2Late]

17. Looks like they are a "low-cost Resturant Food supplier,"

Sort of like Sysco, but smaller.



Mmmmm, Yummy Pork-like products.

[leveymg]

16. Haiti: A Wholly-Owned Division of BushCo Int'l (dba, Siemius Foods)

Boy, I bet the insider-trading disclosures on that SEC filing make interesting reading.

[Mika]

18. He also worked for the George W. Bush gubernatorial campaign in Texas

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/12399739.htm

His firm, which he bought in 1996 with a $55 million loan, is today Texas' largest black-owned company and the largest black-owned food processing plant in the country, according to Black Enterprise magazine. Through it all, Siméus kept in close touch with his homeland.

-

The firm has helped engineer victories for candidates in the Bahamas, Indonesia and Mexico, as well as for the George W. Bush gubernatorial campaign in Texas.

[Demeter]

22. Sounds LIke Exporting Dictatorship, not Food

just what kind of oversight does this company get? CIA? Halliburton?

[President Jesus]

20. Siméus' campaign contributions

Mostly Dem, but last was to W :puke:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?xst=NJ&last=Sim%E9us

[Up2Late]

23. You are cracking me up with the links to "NewsMeat"

What a great name for a website. I thought, at first, it might be a "Goggle" for Meat.

[mom cat]

24. Looks like the vast percentage of his $ went to Dems!

[1932]

27. Haiti is already run by American CEOs.