Jacques Review

In the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse’s brutal assassination, speculations have run amok concerning possible culprits. One of the names that seem to be dominating conspiratorial spaces is that of Claude Joseph, Haiti’s (now former) Interim Prime Minister. Joseph took up the function of acting president for the period until elections are held in the fall. Joseph earned a Ph.D. in public and urban policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School in 2018. His dissertation was entitled Three Essays on Foreign Aid, Institutions, and Development (The New School; see also SAGE).

No serious credence had been given to the allegations of Joseph’s involvement. I will not be addressing those claims here. I would only like to point out that It seems highly unlikely that one who would have gained power only for a very short period of time would have masterminded the assassination of a sitting president in the eyes of the international community. I suspect that this was a political play in order to undermind Joseph’s character.

Before venturing into the real focus of these reflections, I would like to also point out that the level of viciousness involved in the killing of the President suggests that it was meant to be very public and gruesome. Such a killing, in my opinion, seems to function as a warning to other would-be contrary persons to those with the capacity to fund and hide from association with the act.

Claude Joseph and the Question of Legitimacy

“A day after the assassination, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price noted that Joseph was the incumbent in the position and was serving as acting prime minister before the assassination: “We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such,” he said.” — Danica Coto (The Associated Press)

Claude Joseph, who began his term as Interim Prime Minister on April 17, 2021, was one of three claiming legitimacy in regards to governing the nation. This is in spite of the fact that Ariel Henry was appointed to the Prime Minister position just before Moise’s assassination. Joseph had previously argued that Henry was never sworn in as Prime Minister and therefore has no claims to legitimacy. At the onset, it appeared that Joseph received approval from the international community (AP).

There is also a Joseph Lambert who was voted by a majority in a group of 10 senators to be the interim head of the state. However, Lambert has not been sworn in by those that have selected him (New York Times). In fact, one can dispute whether or not the senate had the right to present an interim leader when the senate itself is functioning with less than half of its members. Appointing a senator to be Interim president naturally serves as a strategic approach by the senate to have complete control of the executive branch.

While it can be said that Joseph is interested in grabbing power for himself, what can’t be denied is the soundness of his counter. How can anyone be legitimate when there is only one that is actually sworn in? In my opinion, it made sense for him to remain in the position.

Claude Joseph was Fired ?

Was Claude Joseph fired by Jovenel Moise? Part of the reason Joseph was being demanded to step down was because he was said to have been fired. Since the establishment of the Prime Minister’s office with Martial Celestin on February 9, 1988, there has been one period of vacancy (June 20, 1988 – Feb. 13, 1991) and three interims. Florence Duperval Guillaume was interim prime minister from Dec. 20, 2014, to Jan. 16, 2015 (27 days), Jean-Michel Lapin served from March 21, 2019, to March 4, 2020 (349 days), and Joseph who begin his sting as interim on April 14 of this year after the resignation of Joseph Jouthe (AlJazeera).

Was it ever understood that Joseph was selected as the permanent Prime Minister? From April to June he was appointed three times as Interim Prime Minister. The last appointment didn’t include an end date. “The decree didn’t specify how long Joseph will be interim prime minister, contrary to the two previous times.” In a tweet of acceptance of the June 14 appointment, Joseph wrote: “I warmly thank the president of the republic, His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, for having kindly placed his confidence in me again to lead the interim government” (New York Times, emphasis mine).

While we can highlight Joseph’s appointment to an interim position and his own recognition of what he will be heading as an interim government, there is credence to the charges that the selection of a Prime Minister with such a short time left in the Moïse presidency indicated a vote of confidence elsewhere.

It is also worth noting that with the third decree concerning Joseph’s status as Prime Minister, no end date was given. That may have been signaling that the President was content with Joseph enough to not have to review his selection. On the reverse side, it may simply be that Moïse never intended for Joseph to remain as interim but rather to continue to function in the strategic role of the minister of foreign affairs.

Tomorrow. . .

Joseph has stepped down. What remains to be seen is whether or not something significant takes place that needed Ariel Henry. Perhaps the real changes, and political maneuverings, won’t be brought to light for years to come. This reflection is by no means meant to be a defense of Claude Joseph. Rather, it was reasoning along as best as possible to whether he had legitimacy in remaining in power.

Featured image credit: Wikimedia

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