Hispaniola is a crystal-clear illustration of how much damage generations of corrupt government can do to a country.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic are pretty similar in climate and natural resources. I've been told -- haven't been there myself -- that when you fly over the border between the two countries, you can see the line as clearly as on the map. The DR side is lush and green, while the Haitian side is mud, stripped of anything and everything that can be eaten, burned as fuel or sold.
Probably not the best analogy in the world, but it brings the rise of Hitler to mind. When you have a nation that, for whatever reason, is completely without hope and desperate, there is a history of such nations embracing incredibly brutal, psychopathic dictators.
In Haiti's case, I don't know what the answer is. How to you bring prosperity to a country that is unimaginably poor, uneducated and without resources? There's not much to work with.
Very sad.