https://socialistaction.org/2018/12/11/haiti-seethes-with-anger/
Haiti seethes with anger!
/ 22 hours ago
Dec. 2001 HaitiBy MARTY GOODMAN
Beginning Nov. 18 and for some six days, rebellion gripped Haiti. The
Haitian masses jammed the streets, shutting down schools, transportation
and businesses, some lighting bonfires of rubber tires at street corners
or torching symbols of authority and corruption. At least 11 were
killed, mostly by police, and 34 were injured. One cop died during the
protests. A new force, likely paramilitary, was seen wielding M-60
machine guns, a weapon that can fire armor piecing bullets.
The trigger for the protests was the rip-off of close to $3.8 billion in
Venezuelan aid given to Haiti in the form of a discounted gas program
known as PetroCaribe, as revealed in a study by the Haitian Senate.
Protesters chanted, “Where did the PetroCaribe money go?” and “Moïse
must go!”—referring to Jovenel Moïse, Haiti’s corrupt, pro-U.S.
president. Thus far, the Moïse regime, which was elected with only
600,000 votes amidst charges of fraud, has refused to step down or
investigate the theft of PetroCaribe funds. Moïse, whose finances were
already under investigation for money laundering upon taking office, is
suspected of being implicated in the PetroCaribe scandal, along with his
network of crooked friends and business partners.
The Organization of American States (OAS), as perpetual servants of U.S.
policy, issued a statement lashing out at protesters, while in solemn
tones calling for “dialogue.” For now, at least, dialogue is rejected by
the opposition. According to oppositionist Me André Michel, “There is
only one option. Jovenel Moïse is a political corpse that must be
brought to the cemetery. It’s over for him. We cannot do anything with
him anymore. He must leave without delay to avoid chaos.”
Nov. 18 was the 215th anniversary of the Haitian slave victory over
French colonialism at the Battle of Vertieres, led by Haitian
revolutionary hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines. This year, out of fear of
being greeted by unruly protests, the president broke with the tradition
of going to Cap Haitian to observe the anniversary and went instead to
Port au Prince, the capital, for a low-profile observance.
The disappeared PetroCaribe billions could have gone toward creating
desperately needed jobs to build schools, hospitals, and decent housing
for Haitians, who must live on an average of less than $3.15 a day in a
country with an unemployment rate of about 40%.
In a panic, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Céant announced creation of an
estimated 50,000 temporary jobs until the end of the year. For the
“opposition’s” part, Haitian Senator Evaliere Beauplan, a member of the
Democratic and Popular Sector, met with at least one Trump
representative on Nov. 21 to discuss the crisis—i.e., to misdirect and
deceive the Haitian masses. Beauplan was an author of the Haitian Senate
study on the PetroCaribe scandal.
More than two centuries of U.S. imperialism have kept Haiti a neo-colony
that has nurtured its corrupt elite. Today, Haiti is occupied by the UN
Mission to Support Justice in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), about 1200 armed UN
police officers who occupy key positions and advise or dictate armed
intervention. The U.S.-dominated UN is the final authority in Haiti, not
Haitians, and can deploy 10,000 troops at any time.
The protests were called by coalitions of opposition forces, including
some 50 political parties; among them were former supporters of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide. But none have called for an end to U.S.
occupation and domination.
Berthany Dupont, editor of Haiti Liberté, a weekly, told Socialist
Action that while the paper supports the protest demands, it strongly
rejects what Dupont called the opposition’s “bourgeois parties’” refusal
to call for the U.S./UN to get out of Haiti, without which, he said,
“we’re going back to the same thing.”
The November mobilizations are the third mass outpouring since last July
6-8, when the Haitian masses poured into the streets to resist President
Moise’s order to virtually double gas prices at the behest of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the gangster-like enforcement arm of
the U.S.-dominated World Bank, in exchange for a $96 million loan to
Haiti.” In July, Haitians blocked roads, burned tires, discharged guns,
and wrecked some 80 stores, including torching three super-markets owned
by Reginald Boulos, president of the national chamber of commerce and
industry of Haiti. As many as 20 people were killed and over 50
arrested. Haitians have called the World Bank/IMF plans “the death plan.”
On Oct. 17, tens of thousands took to the streets across Haiti in huge
protests. Some observers say it was even bigger than Nov. 18. It was a
holiday for workers because it marks the day when revolutionary leader
Dessalines was killed in 1806. Of the 10 departments in the country,
only Nippes did not see large marches. At least eight were killed Oct.
17 by Haitian cops.
Following an Oct. 31 funeral for six of those killed Oct. 17, held in a
church in the Bel-Air slum in Port au Prince, a march was organized and
grew into a protest against the PetroCaribe corruption. During the
march, one man was shot dead and at least eight others were injured.
The desperation and mobilization of the Haitian masses is at an acute
stage. The leadership of middle-class and ruling class forces will offer
no solution to the misery in Haiti. A complete transformation of Haitian
society is needed, that is, the elimination of imperialism and
capitalism. Hope lies with the forces seeking revolutionary change.
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December 11, 2018 in Caribbean. Tags: Haiti
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