The Haitian Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism
Kim Ives
Abstract
This interview with Kim Ives, founding editor of Haiti Liberté, examines the contemporary Haitian crisis as a protracted struggle against U.S.-led imperial domination. Situating current events within the legacy of the 1804 Haitian Revolution, Ives argues that Haiti’s persistent political instability and economic devastation are the result of two centuries of foreign isolation, intervention, and neocolonial control. He interprets the present armed uprising — organized through the coalition Viv Ansanm and associated with the leadership of Jimmy Cherizier — as the opening phase of a potential second social revolution confronting Haiti’s comprador bourgeoisie and foreign-backed security apparatus. Ives details the role of the United States, Canada, and France in orchestrating successive interventions, including support for multinational security missions and private military actors, and contends that mainstream media narratives obscure the class dynamics underpinning Haiti’s turmoil. He further situates Haiti within broader geopolitical struggles, challenging prevailing accounts of “multipolarity” and arguing that Haiti remains a focal point of U.S. hemispheric strategy amid shifting global power alignments. Emphasizing the revolutionary traditions of Haitian political culture, Ives contrasts Haiti’s collectivist ethos with U.S. individualism and underscores the importance of international solidarity. The interview advances a class analysis of Haiti’s crisis while calling for renewed attention to imperialism, sovereignty, and the longue durée of anti-colonial struggle in the Americas.
Keywords
Haiti, Haitian Revolution, U.S. imperialism, neocolonialism, Kim Ives
