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Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant announced the suspension "until further notice" of an increase in fuel prices that sparked violent protests and left at least seven people dead in the Caribbean nation
. a televised televised call to patience, and tried to convince people of the need to raise prices.
The capital Port-au-Prince and its environs had remained paralyzed since Friday afternoon, with main roads blocked by barricades of tires, and some protesters even called for a revolution in the impoverished country.
Just before the announcement of the suspension, the head of the lower house of parliament had threatened to take power if the fuel price increases were not reversed. They were only announced on Friday, as many Haitians were absorbed into a World Cup football match.
"If there is no response within two hours, the government According to Gary Bodeau, the Speaker of the House of Deputies, Lafontant announced the suspension of price increases on Twitter, claiming that "violence and democracy are fundamentally incompatible."
The seven victims were reported following the looting in the capital, reported the HPN news agency. The police also spoke of victims, but did not mention any figures.
Similar demonstrations of anger erupted in Cap-Haïtien, the second largest city, as well as in the communes of Les Cayes, Jacmel and Petit-Goave
. The unrest was triggered by a government announcement that fuel prices would rise by 38 percent, diesel by 47 percent and kerosene by 51 percent from this weekend.
Several major airlines, including American, Air France, Delta, Blue Jet and Copa, to cancel flights to Port-au-Prince
Haiti is still recovering from Hurricane Matthew who hit in 2016 Nearly 40,000 people remain in makeshift camps after an earthquake of more than 200,000 people eight years ago. thousands more died from a multi – year cholera outbreak
. A framework signed in February between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Haiti implied the end of subsidies for petroleum products, which are a major source of the budget. But subsidies also help make fuel affordable in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where most people live in extreme poverty, where unemployment is widespread and where the rate is high. inflation exceeds 13% in the last three years
. According to Mr. Lafontant, between 2010 and 2018, government fuel subsidies cost $ 1 billion, an amount that he thought could have allowed us to build several kilometers of roads … many clbadrooms. ..
Government officials also complain that the country has for years been subsidizing people from the neighboring Dominican Republic who cross the border to take advantage of Haiti's lower prices.
Tribune News Service
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