By the Regroupment of Haitians of Montreal against the Occupation of Haiti (REHMONCO)
For more than three weeks, the working classes have been mobilizing against the order of terror established in the country since November 16, 2018. During the day of February 7 of this year, hundreds of thousands of people took over the streets of several cities across the country to demand the departure of de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry. This date is emblematic because it marks the thirty-eighth anniversary of the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship.
Let us remember that the fight to overthrow the dictatorship also aimed to change the Haitian state which, for more than 200 years, reproduced misery, exclusion and oppression. A state which, since 1915, has been totally subject to the sole interests of US imperialism. It is this state, now in complete decomposition, which has transformed into a rogue state, led by a regime whose support for criminal gangs is no longer in doubt. This state, despite its decay, is kept alive thanks to the unconditional support of US imperialism and the oligarchy.
This rogue state is therefore necessary for the continuation of domination and the plundering of the country’s resources. This is why repression is essential so that US imperialism and the oligarchy can continue to preserve their interests. And it is in this sense that we must understand the role played by gangs today.
The working classes are aware that the rise in power of these united criminal gangs is objectively linked to the interests of the oligarchy and imperialism. By facilitating and financing the development of gangs in the main urban centers of the country, the oligarchs and the de facto government wish to neutralize all mobilizations against poverty, the absence of public services, health, education, etc.
Day by day, repression through gangs reaches new heights. For the year 2023, more than 8,000 people will be murdered or kidnapped. In the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, following gang attacks, at least 100,000 people are forced to flee their homes. In January 2024 alone, more than 1,800 people were murdered, half of whom were children (According to UNICEF).
Today, something is obvious to us: the de facto government will remain in power as long as its foreign guardians and the oligarchy order it to stay there. Another reality also seems obvious to us: the proposals submitted by civil society groups to find “a peaceful Haitian solution” to the crisis have reached the objective limits that were included in the approach of these groups from the start. Imperialism does not intend to negotiate with anyone and does not intend to make any compromise affecting its domination and its interests. And, it is important to repeat: the form of imperial domination today excludes all forms of formal representative democracy, of institutions of a sovereign and democratic state. For imperialism, domination must be total.
But for it to be total, this domination must be based on total violence. This is why it is imperative that the working classes organize themselves to build total resistance to this violence. The time for only spontaneous mass demonstrations seems to be over.
Today, the time has come to build an organized struggle in the short, medium and long term!
For authentication,
Renel Exentus
Frank W. Joseph
Montreal, February 18, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
