The Government of Haiti suspends rising fuel prices in the midst of protests

The Prime Minister of Haiti, Jack Guy Lafontant, announced Saturday the suspension of the increase petroleum product prices, following the threat of the head of the lower house to take the government if the measure was not reversed, amid protests that have made at least one death.

"The Government announces the suspension of the price adjustment measure for petroleum products until further notice," Lafontant said on Twitter.

Just before, Speaker of the House of Commons of Haiti, Gary Bodeau, had issued a two-hour ultimatum to the government to reverse its decision to raise fuel prices.

"If there is no answer within two hours, the government will be considered resigning and from Monday morning the parliament will make provision It is" necessary ", said M Bodeau at AFP

On Friday, the Haitian government announced a sharp rise in fuel prices, a measure that is part of the agreement signed in February with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). decision involved the increase of gasoline by 38%, diesel 47% and kerosene by 51%.

After the announcement of the outbreaks broke out in Port-au-Prince. On Saturdays, most main arteries were blocked by barricades and all flights to the Haitian capital were canceled.

On Friday, at least one person died after an incident with a group of protesters. was lynched trying to force his way through a barricade. The man, an officer badigned to the security of a leader of an opposition party, was then cremated in the middle of the road.

– "Patience"

Faced with this violence, the government tried Saturday to calm the demonstrators before suspending the measure.

"I ask your patience because our administration has a vision, a clear program," said the head of government at a conference broadcast on public television in the morning

"Do not destroy, because each Haiti becomes impoverished more (…) The country is under construction, but if we destroy it every time, we will always be left behind. "

In the richest districts of the city, a large part of showcases and glbad The director of the National Police, Michelangelo Gideon, lamented the death of the agent and called for calm. "We understand your right to protest, to defend, but we do not understand violence." He also reported that at least two police stations as well as several police cars were set on fire

– Unbearable rise –

The new terms of reference between the IMF and Haiti, signed in February, implied the cessation of the public subsidy of petroleum products, a frequent source of the public accounts deficit.

This increase was deemed unbearable by the majority of the population of Haiti, a country facing extreme poverty, mbadive unemployment and inflation exceeding 13% for the third year consecutive.

The government tried to convince citizens that it was obliged to revise the prices of petroleum products.

"We are not talking about the increase but rather putting the fuels at the price they should be," said the prime minister. televised message

"From 2010 to 2018, Haiti subsidized fuel for a sum of 50 billion gourdes, or a billion dollars, which would have allowed us to build many kilometers of road (…) many clbadrooms (…), many health centers, "explains Lafontant.

The government defends the reduction of these public subsidies because it says unjustly privileged the economy of the citizens of the neighboring Dominican Republic, who cross the border in search of cheaper fuel prices.

"Thanks to these subsidies, the daily consumption of petroleum products has reached about 20,000 barrels, while our usual consumption is 14,000 or 15,000 barrels," said Friday the Minister of Economy and Finance, Jude Alix Patrick Solomon. .

This meant "a daily subsidy of 5,000 to 6,000 barrels on the other side of the border, which is very heavy for our economy," he said.

Since the announcement of rising prices of major cities in the country have suspended the distribution of fuels.

In recent weeks, several demonstrations have already taken place in Haiti to protest against the possibility of a rise in the price of fuel.