After more than 30 months in power, the Haitian people have decided that the current head of the executive branch, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, is incapable of running the country. They have therefore decided to remove him from office. But the latter, in his cynicism, refuses to accept the people’s proposals amicably, agreeing instead to the dictates of American imperialism, which, through the voice of its chargé d’affaires Eric Stromayer, acted as the regime’s advocate, suggesting on Radio Caraibes: “It is necessary that all the political parties, civil society and economic people get together with Ariel Henry so that they organize elections as soon as possible, to put an end to the Transition and to the deplorable state in which the Haitian people find themselves.”
It is this behavior that justifies the popular demonstrations that have shut down the country’s main cities to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. And throughout the anti-government mobilization in Jérémie, Les Cayes, Au Cap, Ouanaminthe and Port-au-Prince, the police did nothing but confront and assault the demonstrators, using terribly severe repression in an attempt to safeguard their power. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowds, who were in fact demanding the same things as the police.
Banks, schools and government agencies closed their doors in the north and south of Haiti, while demonstrators blocked the main roads with burning tires and paralyzed public transport.
The people are taking advantage of this opportunity to set an example, to show that Haitian power is not dependent on the American government, but on the Haitian people. It is the Haitian people who decide in Haiti, not the United States.
Ironically, this popular initiative was denounced by the so-called opposition, which was negotiating the sharing of the power cake with the de facto government. This opposition can hardly stand the popular mobilization in the streets demanding that Ariel hand over the keys of the Primature to the people.
Thus, the members of the Montana group unmask themselves in a critical note against Ariel Henry where they took the opportunity to attack the popular movement that is occupying, paralyzing and blocking the main roads with burning tires to force power to step down. According to Montana, “the de facto government is stirring up confusion to make it look like an internal rebellion against itself.”
In the logic of this unpopular, pro-imperialist current, which has spent all its time talking to Ariel Henry, the government is supporting the rebellion “to prevent the organized forces inside the country from finding a peaceful political solution to the multifaceted crisis ravaging the country”. What an aberration on the part of this opportunistic clique, manipulated by American ambassadors Daniel Foote and Brian Nichol’s with a view to continuing the logic of imperial domination under the pretext of a Haitian-style transition, but which in fact would be American in order to further deceive the working masses.
For its part, the newspaper Haïti Liberté continues to support the struggle of the popular masses for a better tomorrow. It’s clear that the direction the struggle of the popular masses is currently taking, by calling for a revolution instead of favoring the transition that makes the gravediggers of the nation happy, is causing some people to cringe.
We, at the newspaper, will remain attached, cemented to the people’s struggle. For we are not among those who have never placed their trust in the people’s struggle. Our entire existence has been spent in the camp of the exploited classes, and we have never made the mistake of talking to the parasitic bourgeoisie and the repugnant oligarchy, nor of taking part in any transitional conciliabule with the political class at the service of imperialism.
For the rest of us, may the Prime Minister fall on February 7, 2024, according to the wishes of the people. May he remain in office according to the wishes of imperialism, something we don’t want as much as the people. But certainly, the revolution will not stop until the final victory of the people! The struggle continues, Long live the Haitian people!
Isabelle Papillon