Haiti protesters urge Russia and China to exploit resources

Haiti turns to Russia and China as Western aid fails

What happens when a stateless nation, lacking territorial control and facing a humanitarian crisis, decides that Washington, Paris, and Ottawa are no longer its saviors? In Port-au-Prince, protesters opposing potential foreign intervention made their stance clear: “We don’t need Canada, France, or the US; we need Russia and China to come and exploit our wealth.” This quote, shared by Mundo en Conflicto, summarizes a shift beyond mere slogans: the Western brand has burned out across much of the Global South, and others are capitalizing on it.

The issue, as usual, is the inventory. The first question that arises is the most uncomfortable: what wealth? Haiti produces no oil, has no coltan, exports no rubber, and its coffee, mangoes, and cocoa do not move global markets. A July 2012 report by Mining.com estimated the country’s intact mineral wealth at $20 billion, a figure cited ad nauseam but never translated into a single large-scale operational mine.

What lies beneath Haitian soil

The poorest country in the Americas—and the most Black in the continent, alongside the Dominican Republic, which shares the island and fares significantly better—has gold and silver in quantities geologists deem interesting. What it lacks is infrastructure, legal security, and a state capable of signing contracts that survive government changes. For a Chinese investor accustomed to negotiating with stable regimes in Africa, this is a primary concern.

Some argue Beijing has been testing the waters for years. The circulating theory suggests that the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse—who had flirted with Taiwan and a $150 million loan—fits this geopolitical pulse. It is a hypothesis, not a verdict, but it explains why some view the Haitian crisis as a chessboard rather than a tragedy.

The argument dismantling enthusiasm

The most repeated objection is common sense: if there is nothing to extract, no one will invest. Neither Russia nor China will build a port, road, or power grid to export mangoes. In Africa, however, they have built infrastructure in exchange for raw materials, and that model—Chinese credit for resources—is the only one some see as viable in Port-au-Prince.

The counterargument is that Haiti is not Zambia. Systemic corruption, the absence of a loyal army, and the fragmentation of armed gangs turn any investment into a gamble. A country where installing a pipe requires bribing the police officer, councilor, mayor, minister, judge, and prosecutor is not a partner: it is a sinkhole.

The long shadow of colonization and racial debate

A topic the West prefers to avoid creeps into the conversation: the thesis that Haitian underdevelopment is historical, not genetic. Slavery, subjugation, and centuries of plunder left a mark that cannot be erased by a five-year plan. Those who argue otherwise often cite studies on cognitive differences between populations, a field where serious science has offered no conclusive answers and politics contaminates any data.

The majority position, however, is more pragmatic: the problem is not who exploits Haiti, but that Haiti is not exploitable. Neither Anglo-Saxon nor Eurasian powers will fix a country unable to govern itself. Foreign intervention, with or without a Russian flag, sounds like more of the same.

What remains of the geopolitical tug-of-war

The episode leaves an uncomfortable image: a handful of protesters in a lawless capital asking Moscow and Beijing to come take whatever is left. It is not foreign policy; it is a cry. And as a cry, it says more about disillusionment with the West than about the real intentions of these new suitors.

The final irony is that neither China nor Russia has moved to intervene in Haiti. The country continues to wait. And while it waits, the slogan remains stuck on the wall.