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Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean announced last week that he will run for President of Haiti. The Haitian born musician has lived in United States since age 9, and became famous in the 1990s as a member of the politically conscious hip-hop trio, The Fugees. While he is best known as a musician, 37 year old Jean, has been increasingly active in Haitian politics. In 2005 he established the Yele Haiti foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for projects in his native country. He attends international conferences on economic development, and says his plan for Haiti is fashioned after the policies favored by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is the UNs special envoy to Haiti. Wyclef Jean also has familial ties to Haiti’s political class. His uncle is Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States, who was appointed in 2004 by the government that overthrew then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. While some question whether Jean is qualified for Haiti’s highest office, others are critical of his politics. His familial ties to the coup government and his implicit support for it have caused concern. Wyclef Jean, who has remained a Haitian citizen, described his decision to run for Haiti’s highest office saying, “I always say that Wyclef Jean is not running for the Presidency of Haiti, I’m being drafted by the people of Haiti.”

GUEST: Kim Ives, journalist with Haiti Liberté newspaper