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WORLD NEWSSaturday 4 March 2017
Rene Preval, who led Haiti amid catastrophe, dies at 74
EVENS SANON Bertrand Aristide, and fumbling response to the Belgium and later studied val returned to Haiti and
Associated Press turned power back over to tragedy. geothermal sciences at opened a bakery in the
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Aristide when he left office Preval was born on Jan. 17, the University of Pisa in Italy. Haitian capital of Port-au-
— Rene Preval, a low-key five years later after a term 1943, in the town of Marme- In 1970, he moved to New Prince. He supplied bread
technocrat who led Haiti marked by political infight- lade in rural northern Haiti. York, where he worked as to an orphanage run by
as president during the ing. His father, Claude, was an a waiter and a messenger. Aristide, a Roman Catholic
devastating January 2010 His second term, which agronomist who served Five years later, he returned priest who led a movement
earthquake and a messy started in 2006, was marred under President Paul Ma- to Haiti and worked at the to oust the younger Duva-
and prolonged recovery, lier and later became the
has died. He was 74. In this 2010 photo, Haitian President Rene Preval pauses while speaking on Capitol Hill, in Wash- country’s first democrati-
Preval, who had the dis- ington. Preval, who was the only democratically elected president of Haiti to win and complete cally elected president.
tinction of being the only two terms but was criticized for his handling of the devastating January 2010 earthquake, has died Preval became a leading
democratically elected at age 74, current leader Jovenal Moise announced in a tweet, Friday, March 3, 2017. figure in Aristide’s Lavalas
president to win and com- political movement, which
plete two terms in a coun- (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) enjoyed a huge following
try notorious for political among the poor and was
upheaval, died Friday, ac- by the disastrous earth- gloire and fled during the National Institute for Miner- feared and hated by the
cording to a statement is- quake of January 12, 2010, early years of the dicta- al Resources, according to tiny community of elites
sued by President Jovenel which the government said torship of Francois “Papa an official biography. who long dominated the
Moise. killed more than 310,000 Doc” Duvalier. In 1988, two years after a country’s economy and
The cause of death was people and displaced Preval earned an agrono- popular uprising ousted Du- government.
not released but Preval more than 1 million. Many my degree from Gembloux valier’s son, Jean-Claude Aristide, by now no lon-
had been treated for pros- Haitians accused him of a Agricultural University in “Baby Doc” Duvalier, Pre- ger a priest, was elected
tate cancer in Cuba in president in 1990 and ap-
2001. Moise said the former pointed Preval to be his
president died at his home prime minister. A military
in the Port-au-Prince dis- coup ousted Aristide seven
trict of Laboule. months into his term and
“I learned with sadness the the two leaders went into
death of former President exile.
Rene Preval,” Moise said A U.S.-led invasion restored
on his Twitter account. “I Aristide to power in 1994
prostrate myself before the and he was allowed to
remains of this worthy son serve the year-plus remain-
of Haiti.” ing in his term. Running as
Former President Michel Aristide’s successor, and
Martelly, who succeeded with his backing, Preval
Preval, said “Rene, my won 88 percent of the vote
brother, my friend and in 1995 though only a quar-
adviser, your departure ter of eligible voters cast
leaves us in shock.” ballots.
Preval was elected by a Preval’s first term was
landslide in 1995 as the marked by political in-
chosen successor of Jean- fighting, with Aristide seen
as the power behind the
Cuban tobacco farmers celebrate a bumper crop throne. When Preval com-
pleted his term in 2001 and
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s farmers nervous until the says. “The weather helped gars in stores around the transferred power to Aris-
tobacco farmers are cel- growing season has ended the harvest and I think it’ll country. The Obama ad- tide, he became Haiti’s first
ebrating a bumper crop and the harvest has begun. be the best crop in many ministration last year made democratically elected
after two bad years that This spring, the fields in Pinar years.” it legal for travelers to bring president to leave office
coincided with a boom in del Rio Province, some 90 Sales of Cuban cigars unlimited quantities of rum after a full term.
demand set off by a surge miles (150 kilometers) west topped $430 million in 2016, and cigars back to the U.S. Preval then withdrew from
of tourists and looser U.S. of Havana, are carpeted with demand increasing Distributors abroad are also politics and spent his time
rules on cigar-buying. with healthy green tobac- both nationally and world- reporting record sales in in Marmelade during Aris-
One night of rain combined co plants. wide.Cruise ship tourists, an important source of for- tide’s second term, which
with a winter chill can ruin “This year I can’t com- U.S. visitors and others are eign revenue for the cash- ended when he was
a tobacco crop, leaving plain,” farmer Luis Martinez snapping up boxes of ci- strapped government.q forced to flee the country
following a violent rebel-
lion in 2004. q
