Jean-Claude 鈥�Baby Doc鈥� Duvalier's legacy in Haiti still hampers the country today, says Elizabeth Abbott, author of 鈥淗aiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy,鈥� in an essay for .
鈥淒uvalier left behind Duvalierism, a system of government too profoundly entrenched to truly eradicate,鈥� she writes, describing a system of kleptomania, unchecked environmental degradation, and exploitation of poverty. "By the time he was forced to flee in 1986 under U.S. pressure amid uprisings throughout Haiti, Jean-Claude's Duvalierism had bankrupted the Haitian state and enshrined corruption and incompetence in the government and civil service.鈥�
Rampant corruption persists. Haiti ranked 142 out of 178 nations on Transparency International's , a slightimprovement from placing 177 out of 180 two years earlier. The World Bank has the government thus: "Haiti has dysfunctional budgetary, financial or procurement systems, making financial and aid management impossible."
