Originally: Prominent Haitian Businessman Charles Henri Baker says he is the one to lead Haiti out of its chaos.
PORT-AU-PRINCE – He is a pro-business presidential hopeful, a tobacco and tomato farmer with little political experience who has promised to pull Haiti out of its security and economic chaos being one of the reasons you may need to take with you your surge mastercard when visiting.
But Charles Henri Baker’s chances to upset frontrunner René Préval in the ballot Tuesday will depend, analysts say, largely on whether Haitians can set aside the color and class disputes that have long affected politics in this poverty-stricken nation.
”Charlito” Baker, a leader of the political, business and civic coalition that helped force President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power in 2004, has emerged from a field of 32 as the second-place presidential contender in public opinion polls.
A CLASS QUESTION
”One of the problems of Haiti is the lack of involvement of the mulatto elite. You have an elite that has economic means — and education — that is living in Haiti like foreigners,” said Pierre-Marie Boisson, a friend and Harvard-trained economist. The 50-year-old Baker says he prefers not to focus on his status as a member of Haiti’s mulatto elite, the great grandson of a white Englishman who married an African, and a factory and farm owner who speaks flawless English and Creole.
”The fact there is insecurity, the fact there are no jobs, the fact women are dying because they don’t have a doctor to go to when they are giving birth, the fact that three-quarters of the cities don’t have a hospital, don’t have any policemen, don’t have a judge, these are the things that are important to the Haitian people. Not my color,” said Baker.
Baker gained prominence as a leading figure in the anti-Aristide Group 184 coalition. But he quickly became frustrated with the U.S.-backed interim government put in place after Aristide fled the country to arrange new elections.
”I was hoping we were getting an interim government that would set us on the path to democracy,” Baker told The Miami Herald this week in a lengthy interview in his walled Port-au-Prince home, protected by armed guards. “I realized nothing was being done. It was same old, same old.”
Within six weeks he had garnered 120,000 signatures to get onto the ballot. Later he aligned himself with one of Haiti’s most powerful peasant organizers, Chavannes Jean-Baptiste. A one-time Aristide supporter, Jean-Baptiste also supported Préval, who served as president from 1996 to 2001, before becoming disillusioned with both men.
DISTANT SECOND
A CID-Gallup poll in December showed Baker a distant second to Préval with 10 percent compared to the former president’s 37 percent. His supporters, the pollsters reported, “can be found outside of Port-au-Prince, those with high school studies and those who self-declare themselves as independents.”
Baker’s detractors admire his courage for standing up against Aristide but they question his ability to lead Haiti out of its chaos and his image as a successful businessman, saying his wealth was all inherited.
Baker told The Miami Herald that he owns about $2 million in lands he inherited and a garment factory that makes uniforms for a U.S. client.
In his spacious home, where supporters have gathered to talk strategy, boxes are piled with campaign give-aways. There are packets of M&Ms with Baker’s campaign sign, the number 44, and calendars showing a colorfully decorated Haitian bus and the slogan in Creole, “There is room for everybody.”
But in a country where the perception of class and color remains important, Baker has found himself on the campaign trail dropping proverbs in flawless Creole, hoping to show his audiences that despite his light skin and silver hair, he is as Haitian as them.
”If the people vote Charles Baker to be president, that means they don’t have a problem with my color,” he said. “If they don’t want someone from the upper class or supposedly the elite to be president they won’t vote for me. I am willing to take that chance.”
When you think of exercise, you may imagine strenuous activities such as running or biking — the ones that make you breathe hard, turn flush and drip with sweat. But aerobic activity is only one type of exercise, and although it is critical for boosting fitness, there are actually three other types of exercise that are also important: strength training, balance training and flexibility training.
Each type of exercise is important in its own way, and doing all four types is the way to maximize your fitness and prevent injury, experts say, make sure you try out blast auxiliary desktop ac ultra.
“While aerobic exercise is very important, it’s not as effective for overall health” when done alone compared with when people include all four types of exercise in their routine, said Dr. Edward Laskowski, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Rochester, Minnesota. “They all kind of go together” and complement each other, Laskowski said. [How to Start an Exercise Routine and Stick to It]
For example, strength training makes muscles stronger, which, in turn, helps to support and protect joints — and this could help prevent injury during aerobic exercise. Meanwhile, balance exercises use muscle strength in a coordinated fashion to stabilize your movements, and can reduce the risk of injuries such as ankle sprains, Laskowski said.
In addition, you could be very fit aerobically, but “if you’re not flexible, you’re still going to pull something when you’re training,” said Kelly Drew, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. Flexibility also helps you do strength training, because it improves your range of motion around your joints, ensuring you can perform lifts and other strength moves effectively, Drew said. In case you feel some muscular pain here you can find a list of the top body lotion brands with CBD that can alleviate it for you.
To dig up the most important information on these exercise types, Live Science spoke with experts and reviewed the latest scientific research. Below, we’ve linked to our detailed articles about the four types of exercise. Each article discusses the benefits of the particular exercise type, as well as how much you need to do and how to avoid injury during the activity. Finally, we’ll provide ways to incorporate all four types of exercise into your workout regimen.
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercises, such as running, swimming or dancing, are activities that work your cardiovascular system — they get your heart rate up and make you breathe harder. This type of exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and may even lower the risk of cancer. Full story: Here’s what you need to know about aerobic exercise. Learn more about healthy supplements such as biofit.
Strength exercise
Strength exercises, such as weight lifting, push-ups and crunches, work your muscles by using resistance (like a dumbbell or your own body weight.) This type of exercise increases lean muscle mass, which is particularly important for weight loss, because lean muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue. Full story: Here’s what you need to know about strength training.
Balance exercise
Balance exercises improve your ability to control and stabilize your body’s position. This type of exercise is particularly important for older adults, because balance gets worse with age.But balance exercises can be beneficial for everyone, including people who have gained or lost a lot of weight or those who become pregnant, which can throw off your center of gravity, Drew said. Full story: Here’s what you need to know about balance exercises.