Haiti emerged from the brutal and dynastic Duvalier dictatorship to democracy 35 years ago. Now, many Haitians fear a return to autocracy as President Jovenel Moise has been steadily amassing power.
The banana exporter-turned-politician has been governing by decree for more than a year since the Caribbean nation failed to hold elections in late 2019 due to political gridlock and violent unrest.
In this time, Moise has passed dozens of decrees, some of which implemented reforms considered long overdue, like an update to the penal code. Others, though, are deeply controversial — including an order designating certain types of street protests as terrorism, and the creation of an intelligence agency accountable only to the president.
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