Aristide: An Autobiography

by Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Christophe Wargny

Book Overview

February 7,1991: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a parish priest, is sworn in as Haiti's first democratically elected president. For the first time, Haiti, with its land and people ravaged by human corruption, looks toward the future with hope. September 30,1991: a military junta ousts Aristide from office, bringing his brief rule to an end. As spokesperson of a rapidly burgeoning grassroots movement, he had refused to compromise, calling for a "clean slate,"...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0883448459
• ISBN13: 9780883448458
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Orbis Books
• Length: 205 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Aristide tried to save his country, despite all the forces that keep it down

Jean Bertrand Aristide was a man who genuinely acred about his people, and tried to save them. As a priest, he defied Vatican orders so he could stand up to the Tontons Macoute and Baby Doc Duvalier, which cost him the protections the church had given him previously. As a President, he focused ont he needs of his poorest citizens, which cost him the support of the elites. He tackled corruption, prosecuted the Macoutes, and defied the world's greatest superpower, all to save those who could not save themselves. All this at the cost of his political power, his freedom, and his ability to return to his native land. A Spartacus for the modern age, Aristide knew he could not win, but fought the good fight anyway, not because he felt it would be easy, but because it was the morally proper thing to do. Time will be more gracious to Aristide than his critics have been.