Haiti adds more than a week of demonstrations against the government of Moses | Internationale

Demonstrations, called by the democratic and popular sector – composed of leaders of opposition parties and popular groups – began on the 7th, marking the second anniversary of the arrival of Moise, a man of the same name. banana sector business happened to the presidency. in power without any political experience. And they have not stopped growing:The promoters of the mobilizations have redoubled their energy within the executive in the last hours, with the announcement of new events. They rejected any dialogue with the president who, last Thursday, broke the silence after remaining silent since last Saturday, when he had launched a call for dialogue that was clearly insufficient.

In a message to the nation, aired on state television, Moise said Thursday that he "will fight to restore peace and stability". "I will not leave the country in the hands of armed gangs and drug traffickers," he said.

The protests, which provoked insecurity in the Caribbean country of 10 million inhabitants and created a climate of chaos and uncertainty, took place against the backdrop of a serious crisis that hit its economy already degraded and it was aggravated by the sharp depreciation of the official currency, the gourd. The electricity crisis has also led to a shortage of gas. In 2018, Haiti recorded only 1.4% growth, one of the lowest rates in the region and well below the 2.2% forecast at the beginning of the year. 39, last year. In 2010, the Haitian economy collapsed as a result of a powerful earthquake that caused thousands of deaths and reduced debris in Port-au-Prince. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew, another natural disaster, claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and again hit the weak Haitian infrastructure system.

The protesters also demand justice for the alleged irregularities of the Petrocaribe program – by which Venezuela supplies oil to several US countries at a bargain price in exchange for political support and to which Haiti began to participate in 2008. An audit presented last week by the Court of Auditors revealed irregularities in this program between 2008 and 2016 and attracted 15 senior officials in this case, reports Efe. Also at a company that Moise directed before going to the presidency, in 2017.

Port-au-Prince continued Thursday in a state of paralysis, with the closure of schools, banks, gas stations and many shops for fear of theft. Only in some areas of the city, such as the exclusive Petionville (southeast), some businesses have been encouraged to open their doors. But there, as in the rest of the city, public transport remained virtually zero.

"It's a popular uprising: Haitians occupy the streets and Jovenel [Moise] He has no choice but to resign, "says France Press Prophet Hilaire, one of the young protesters, all the wealth .In the working-clbad neighborhoods, we are more".More than 50% of the population is under 25 years of age but, despite their numbers, it is a group absent from the formal labor market and spheres of power in the country of Latin America. In a country where the private sector is in the hands of a few families, the state is the largest employer. But the administration is far from being representative of the entire population pyramid: more than 80% of those hired by the state are over 35 years old.

"[Moise] He started cleaning programs and said that with them he would create about 50,000 jobs. So young graduates of the university, can you offer them only brooms? "Asks another demonstrator, Marco Beauséjour, 27 years old and trying, without much success, make a living as a motorcycle taxi driver. "Our parents sacrificed themselves to pay for our education and the option we are given is to sweep the streets, the president disrespects." With all, Beausejour it smells a privilege to have studied accounting:The vast majority of young people who grew up in the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince have not even been able to finish high school.

Several foreign countries have taken measures against the resurgence of demonstrations and violence. Washington has withdrawn diplomatic staff "this is not an emergency" and warned its citizens not to visit the country. The Canadian government closed its embbady in Port-au-Prince and ordered the repatriation of its nationals in the Caribbean nation. For its part, the Spanish diplomatic legation in the Haitian capital has recommended extreme precautions and limits "the maximum displacement, stays at home and stays informed" before the "situation of instability" that strikes the country Antilles.