Haiti, the country that shows that one can always be worse and the role of Chavismo in the last crisis

Haiti trembles again. America's poorest country is plunged into a new crisis that defeats the weak government of Jovenel Moses.

For a month, mbad demonstrations were repeated, which often ended in clashes with a police without too much scruple for a brutal repression. At least nine people were killed in a wave of violence including street blockades, looting and even the flight of all prisoners from an Aquin prison.

This time, the cause is not a natural disaster, even if nothing happens in Haiti with the catastrophes of the past that never recover. The trigger is a well-known badtail in the region: a red economy and widespread political corruption.

But there is a special guest in the plot: Venezuela. The mobilizations of the opposition began after the release of a report revealing the misappropriation of a millionaire sum, from Haiti's participation in Petrocaribe.

The alliance was founded by Hugo Chávez in 2005 as part of the plan to expand its influence in Latin America.. For more than a decade, Venezuela has sold billions of barrels of oil at subsidized prices – or in return for goods and services – to almost every country in Central America and the Caribbean.

"Petrocaribe involved buying oil at a very low price and practically nonexistent interest. In addition, in 2010, Venezuela accepted a debt of 4,000 million dollars. This has resulted in a fuel subsidy for the Haitian people, "he said. Infobae sociologist José Manuel Ferreiro, doctor of linguistics at Lancaster University.

Haiti created a special fund with the surplus resources that it had access through the program. Supposedly, it was intended for infrastructure work and for social purposes. But successive surveys have shown that much of this money ends up being diverted.

"It is hard to say that the crisis is new or unprecedented. This turbulence is only the last manifestation of frustration towards oligarchs and elites. Haitians have been struggling for decades to consolidate their democracy. The cry that crosses the streets of Port-au-Prince,Kot kòb petwo karibe a? & # 39; (Where is Petrocaribe money?), Seeking to draw attention to the $ 2 billion that has disappeared. But even if the focus is now on these funds, the underlying causes are the corruption and illegitimacy of the country's leaders, "said Robert Muggah, co-founder and director of research at the Igarapé Institute, in dialogue with Infobae.

A country accustomed to crises

Haiti was one of the first nations in America to declare independence. It was in 1804, after the triumph of a long and unprecedented revolution of slaves against the French colonizers. However, while a pioneer country in many ways, it has never been able to establish a fully functioning state or functional economy.

With a per capita GDP of $ 893, it ranks 32 out of 32 in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its human development index is the lowest in the region (0 498) and it is 168 out of 189 countries in the world.. According to the World Bank, 59% of the population is poor.

The 20th century Hatian was marked by dictatorship of François fou Papa Doc Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude Baby doc, which took power between 1957 and 1986. What followed was a long succession of democratic governments, interrupted by military coups d'etat.

It was only with the arrival of René Préval to the presidency in 2006 that a period of 13 consecutive years of democracy was inaugurated. Michel Martelly succeeded Préval in 2011 and in 2017, he badumed Moses, after a provisional government in 2016.

In the midst of this period of relative political calm, he suffered the worst catastrophe in his history. On Tuesday January 12, 2010, an earthquake of 7 degrees magnitude was shot down on the western half of the island of Hispaniola. More than 300,000 people died and 1.5 million became homeless.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been transferred to makeshift camps – many of them are still there – and Port-au-Prince has been partially destroyed. From that moment, the country has entered a vicious circle of dependence on humanitarian aid provided by the international community, who also had to send successive peace missions to establish some order in the midst of chaos.

In this context, a spark is enough for everything to explode. The end of Venezuelan bonanza, which The drastic reduction in oil shipments led to a shortage of fuel, resulting in severe cuts in the power supply. The economy accelerated its degradation.

"The IMF lent money to Haiti in exchange for the government's removal of the fuel subsidywhich meant economic relief for the city, "said Ferreiro," which also fueled the protests, and the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela damaged the subsidized oil shipment. "

The then prime minister, Guy Guy Lafontant, attempted to raise the price of gasoline in July 2018.. But this sparked a series of demonstrations and riots that left seven dead and forced him to resign. This was the prelude to the current crisis.

"Without popular support, Haitian leaders govern through a system of sponsorship, which diverts public resources to those who support them. This has caused major economic problems: record budget deficit, double-digit inflation for years and devaluation of 50% of the gourd, the local currency. Millions of people living on the brink of despair have fallen off the cliff. There are families who can not eat, send their children to school or have access to basic health care. It is the result of decades of poverty, inequality and the degradation of human rights. Haitian elites and the international community, "said Beatrice Lindstrom, Legal Director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, consulted by Infobae.

The investigation that haunts the entire political clbad

The Senate Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission of the Haitian Senate presented in August 2016 a report on the use of Petrocaribe funds. According to his estimates, Between 2008 and 2016, $ 3,833 million entered the country for operations with Venezuelan oil.. The documentation showed that only one part was actually intended for work, but the rest disappeared almost without trace.

After discussions between senators, which resulted in a new report the following year, the commission has accused 14 former government officials of alleged embezzlement. Among them, the former president Michel Martelly. For amounts under observation, this is the biggest corruption scandal in Haitian history.

The Senate sent the report to the Court of Auditors in 2018 so that it can conduct a thorough investigation into the fate of this money. In August, while the political climate was still upset by the rise of fuels, Filmmaker Gilbert Mirambeau has launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #PetrocaribeChallenge, ask for justice.

That's how it started a new protest movement, which was released a few days later, with a mbadive session at the headquarters of the Court of Auditors. In the following weeks, thousands of people showed up again. Again, riots, looting and clashes with the police resulted in several casualties.

"The government has tried to get out of trouble by shooting," Lindstrom said. The most notable fact is the "La Saline mbadacre" (neighborhood of Port-au-Prince) on 13 November.. Police and gangs allied with the ruling party attacked a politically active neighborhood before protests planned for 18 years. According to reports, more than 70 people were reportedly killed. "

The mobilizations were diluted towards the end of the year. But on 1 February the Court presented a partial report of its investigation with explosive conclusions. In addition to confirming the difference of at least $ 2,000 million and being attributed to past and present administration officials, revealed that a company led by Moses before being president was among those who had received funds in exchange for works that have not materialized.

The outrage was widespread and the epidemic was now much bigger than before. Protesters claim not only justice, but demand the resignation of Moses, who seeks to keep the charge. with a combination of repression and calls to dialogue.

A president with an uncertain future

Jovenel Moses became a banana entrepreneur. Despite not having any political experience, entered Martelly's circle of trust during his presidency. Unexpectedly for many, he proposed in 2015 to replace it with the Haitian party Tèt Kale.

Seen as a stranger to the Democratic Party, he seduced part of the electorate eager for a new face in Haitian politics. And, since he was born in the small town of Trou-du-Nord, he was able to generate some empathy with the rural areas with low resources. But he has never become a really popular figure.

He won the elections of October 2015 with 32% of the votes. But Jude Célestin, who came second with 25%, denounced the fraud and did not recognize the results. The social upheaval was so important that a commission of inquiry was created. A few months later, the entity confirmed the irregularities and recommended to repeat the elections.

"In 2016 we conducted a survey," said Muggah, "when we asked the citizens which candidate they preferred, 91% answered Celestin, socially progressive but politically moderate engineerwhich was popular among the different social clbades. But only 3% of the 1,766 adults surveyed said they intended to vote. 25% said the process was tainted with corruption, others were not convinced that the elections would be free and fair. "

Moses won again on November 20, 2016, with a much clearer difference: he won 55% against 19% for Celestin. The process was again crossed by controversies of all kinds, but the employer was finally declared president and took office on February 7, 2017. A crucial element to understand its precarious legitimacy is as follows: only 21% of registrants participated. That is to say, it was supported by only 11% of people qualified to pay.

"As in the 2015 elections," Muggah said, "information on the mbadive filling of ballot boxes was reported and voting forms were found on the ground the next day." Although Moses benefited from the support of businessmen and donor countries who financed the state's vote and budgetthe majority of Haitians rejected the result and never considered it their legitimate leader. The million or more people who have been on the street since last summer to ask him to resign are not only motivated by their dislike of him, but by a deep anger against democracy. "

The president's reaction to the demonstrations was erratic. The first thing to do was to do nothing or say for several days. Seeing that there was no way to keep quiet, he published an article communicated via Facebook in which he badured that he would not resign and would not leave the country in the hands of criminals.

"Moses responded with silence and by scapegoats that reinforced the protestors' demand to leave. Having come to power after an irregular and low voter turnout, his presidency was lazy from the start.and it is becoming increasingly clear that he has lost his mandate, "Lindstrom said.

Since his words only served to fan the flames, he changed his strategy and offered containment measures. He promised to reduce the price of food, to discuss an increase in the minimum wage and reduce unnecessary spending by the public administration.

On the other hand, he called for conciliation. This Tuesday inaugurated the Facilitation Committee of the Inter-Haitian National Dialogue. "We will save Haiti when we have a sincere dialogue in which everyone will participate and promote the collective interest," he said.

But few people give substance to their promises. André Michel, leader of the democratic and popular opposition sector, who led many mobilisations, rejects the negotiation offered by the government and seeks to revive the demonstrationswhich in recent days has lost its intensity. Any excuse can be enough for the streets to burn again.