10 Years Ago In Time

A decade ago, Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned from exile to become President of HAITI. Despite the backing of the U.S., his chances for success were by no means assured, as this TIME cover suggested.

Even his friends await Aristide's homecoming with mixed emotions. Aristide took a dim view of U.S. interference in the hemisphere: many of his sermons attacked the U.S. government — though never, as he liked to point out, "the American people." After hearing so much from him about the evils of U.S. policy, it is hard for his disciples to understand why he would agree to return hand in hand with the U.S. military ... Despite the difficulties ahead, the returning President firmly believes he can help democracy take root in Haiti. "Not one minute of this has been easy," he says, "and no one expects things to go any more smoothly once we are back. But ... we must return." For the Haitians who elected him, he remains, as one supporter put it, "democracy incarnate." Whatever its reservations, the Clinton Administration has also concluded that without him, democracy in Haiti has no hope at all.

Time, Sept. 26, 1994