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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The church where Jean-Bertrand Aristide once preached and military thugs tried to assassinate him is a ruin now, destroyed by the earthquake that left much of Haiti's capital in ruins, but the allure of the priest-turned-president remains strong among the jobless men who congregate nearby.
To them, Aristide is the only political leader who has ever spoken for the country's poor majority, and his apparently imminent return to Haiti after seven years of exile in South Africa would be nothing short of rapturous.
"It's like Jesus coming back," said 50-year-old Lucien Jean, who lives near Aristide's old church, St. Jean Bosco.
Rumors of Aristide's return have circulated in Haiti for weeks, causing ripples of excitement, and dread among some. Many wonder about the intentions of Haiti's first democratically elected president and what effect, if any, the presence of the twice-ousted leader would have on Sunday's presidential election.
Thousands of supporters are expected to greet Aristide at the airport. But how many thousands? The demonstrations calling for his return have grown smaller by the year since he was ousted in a rebellion in 2004.
"I don't see a popular groundswell calling for him to return," said Alex Dupuy, a Haiti expert and sociology professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Aristide supporters decorated the freshly painted white walls of his home near the capital's airport with small Haitian flags but the date of his arrival remained in question. The former president's lawyer traveled to South Africa on Wednesday and told The Associated Press that the timing had not yet been established. South African officials, meanwhile, said they are consulting with "interested parties" on the logistics of moving Aristide, his wife and two daughters.
Earlier, Marius Fransman, South Africa's deputy foreign minister, told reporters that Aristide could return to Haiti in the next few days, or a week. He said the U.S. State Department, which has urged Aristide to delay his return until after Haiti's election, should raise any concerns with the Haitian government.
Sunday's election, featuring two former critics of the ousted leader, is crucial to the stability and development of Haiti, which is still struggling to emerge from a devastating January 2010 earthquake, a deadly cholera outbreak and the aftermath of a disputed first round of the vote. The race is close and a word from Aristide in support of a candidate or questioning the legitimacy of the election could have a powerful effect.
"If he proposes somebody to us (as a candidate), that's who we will follow," said Supreme Wilson, a 34-year-old in La Saline, the dusty neighborhood around the church.
Aristide built a following among the country's poverty-stricken population in the 1980s as a priest-turned-politician against the despotic rule of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. He became Haiti's first democratically elected leader in 1990, but was toppled a few months later by a military junta. Reinstated with the help of the United States, he was ousted a second time in a 2004 rebellion and flown into exile in South Africa, by the U.S.
To them, Aristide is the only political leader who has ever spoken for the country's poor majority, and his apparently imminent return to Haiti after seven years of exile in South Africa would be nothing short of rapturous.
"It's like Jesus coming back," said 50-year-old Lucien Jean, who lives near Aristide's old church, St. Jean Bosco.
Rumors of Aristide's return have circulated in Haiti for weeks, causing ripples of excitement, and dread among some. Many wonder about the intentions of Haiti's first democratically elected president and what effect, if any, the presence of the twice-ousted leader would have on Sunday's presidential election.
Thousands of supporters are expected to greet Aristide at the airport. But how many thousands? The demonstrations calling for his return have grown smaller by the year since he was ousted in a rebellion in 2004.
"I don't see a popular groundswell calling for him to return," said Alex Dupuy, a Haiti expert and sociology professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Aristide supporters decorated the freshly painted white walls of his home near the capital's airport with small Haitian flags but the date of his arrival remained in question. The former president's lawyer traveled to South Africa on Wednesday and told The Associated Press that the timing had not yet been established. South African officials, meanwhile, said they are consulting with "interested parties" on the logistics of moving Aristide, his wife and two daughters.
Earlier, Marius Fransman, South Africa's deputy foreign minister, told reporters that Aristide could return to Haiti in the next few days, or a week. He said the U.S. State Department, which has urged Aristide to delay his return until after Haiti's election, should raise any concerns with the Haitian government.
Sunday's election, featuring two former critics of the ousted leader, is crucial to the stability and development of Haiti, which is still struggling to emerge from a devastating January 2010 earthquake, a deadly cholera outbreak and the aftermath of a disputed first round of the vote. The race is close and a word from Aristide in support of a candidate or questioning the legitimacy of the election could have a powerful effect.
"If he proposes somebody to us (as a candidate), that's who we will follow," said Supreme Wilson, a 34-year-old in La Saline, the dusty neighborhood around the church.
Aristide built a following among the country's poverty-stricken population in the 1980s as a priest-turned-politician against the despotic rule of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. He became Haiti's first democratically elected leader in 1990, but was toppled a few months later by a military junta. Reinstated with the help of the United States, he was ousted a second time in a 2004 rebellion and flown into exile in South Africa, by the U.S.
