Boston - Last month, during a political meeting, Romero Estinvil unveiled for the first time his intention to run for public office in Haiti. Estinvil will seek one of  Atibonite seats in Haiti’s Senate; Estinvil originally came from Artibonite, Haiti’s largest county.

The news did not come as a surprise, due to the fact that Estinvil has always been heavily involved in Haitian politics. He is best known as a conservative politician and a moderate journalist, but in 1995, his radical position as co-host of a political talk show called "a la loup" left the Haitian community puzzled about his new political standing. More recently, his alleged alliance with the Tonton Makouts is an indication that Estinvil divorced with his democratic past. Tonton Makouts refers to the members of Duvalier’s former militia.

According to Michel Constant of Randolph, Romero Estinvil claims that his decision to step into the race for office in Haiti is motivated only by his commitment to promoting justice, peace and democracy in his homeland. Romero is not a member of any political organization; he actually flirts with several political parties including the RNH, and the MDN to mention only a few. Romero is likely to seek the nomination of the MIDH, a small political organization led by Marc L. Bazin, a pragmatic Haitian leader.

Nevertheless, Estinvil’s project is beginning to raise controversy among his countrymen. Many believe that constitutionally his candidacy is not possible considering the fact that Romero Estinvil, a resident of Hyde Park for the last ten years, went to Haiti only twice during those years and spent only a few days. However, according Haiti’s constitution, in order to run for public office, the prospective candidate must live in the district that he wishes to represent for at least two years. Estinvil may find himself out of the race before it begins. If Estinvil’s friends are thrilled about his project, some of his foes flipped out and have begun to voice their opinion about the prospective candidate.

In fact many believe that Romero will be a very impressive candidate should he pursue his desire to run for public office. Besides the political legacy of his father, who distinguished himself for services rendered to the people of Artibonite as a congressman, Estinvil also has a tremendous track record as a journalist as well as a human rights activist during the period of Duvalier’s dictatorship. In addition, Romero is far more qualified than most of his challengers. He is a graduate of Haiti’s Law School. He worked as news director and political analyst for Radio Lumiere, the official radio station of the Baptist mission in Haiti. Romero also worked as a news correspondent for The Voice of America, a Washington based radio station designed to promote U.S. policy abroad; The Voice of America is aired in several language all over the word. Here in Boston he co-hosted a very popular political talk show on 1330AM called "A LA LOUPE" meaning putting politicians under a magnifying glass, in which Romero and his colleagues Julio Midi and Yves Cajuste analyzed the most current political events in Haiti.

Estinvil emigrated to United States in 1989, where, he earned a bachelor degree in health care administration from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts. He has received extended training in Journalism at George Washington University and last year he completed a one-year program in information technology and networking administration at Clark University.