Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The president-elect wore a conservative grey suit for his first news conference since his election victory as Haitians wondered how this charismatic musician with a bad-boy past would govern the country in crisis.
As he did on the campaign trail, Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly avoided any specifics about how he would lead, but distanced himself from his outrageous stage persona as he spoke of reconciliation with political opponents and improving the lives of the hundreds of thousands still struggling to cope in the aftermath of the earthquake of January 2010. "I would like to say that I have always had the desire to change my country," Mr Martelly said. "I have a passion to change my country."
Many Haitians are wondering just what sort of change Mr Martelly, 50, will bring to a country that is confronting problems on many fronts, including the stalled reconstruction from the earthquake, a cholera outbreak, hundreds of thousands of homeless and more than half the population unemployed. Asked about his priorities for his first three months in office, Mr Martelly, who has never held office, dodged the question like a seasoned politician: "Our common-sense tells us that in the 100-day period, we will barely have the time to build a small house."
He added: "We are not going into specifics at this time," he said, citing a need to "surprise" people.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments