Protest in Haiti Asking for the PM’s Resignation

Protest groups that called for the resignation of the Haitian Prime Minister met yesterday, July 20, in what is also known as the Resistance Crossing.

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“Ariel Henry has a lot of blood under his hands. The people are worse since they took power”, “The people are hungry," and “The United States stops supporting Ariel Henry” were some of the messages displayed on posters or proclaimed loudly in an attitude of denunciation and demand.

The protests also took place in the vicinity of the Prime Minister’s residence, where a strong police operation was immediately activated, which did not hesitate to use tear gas against the demonstrators.

Ariel Henry is a neurosurgeon by profession who, on July 5, 2021, was elected Prime Minister, but due to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, he was announced as president on the 20th of the same month, already as head of government. Since then, he has promised to call an election that keeps getting postponed amid the turbulent reality that prevails in the country.

The tweet reads, "As Prime Minister Ariel Henry continues to increase his travels abroad - very costly ones, we learn - the Haitian people announce the resumption of their anti-government mobilizations......Read more."

The Prime Minister has not only been unable to promote a general election but has also failed to bring together the different political positions prevailing in the country under a will for national unity.

The positions between Henry (only in the executive branch) and the political opposition remain entrenched to this day, demonstrating the little effectiveness that the mediations of the international community have had.

Although the extreme resurgence of insecurity in recent months is behind us, we must not forget that at least 600 people were killed in the country in April of this year alone.  The lack of governance has allowed Haiti to be filled with criminal gangs and vigilantes who take justice into their own hands. The consolidation of these criminal groups has been such that the support forces deployed by the international community in the country have also failed in their confrontation.

Faced with a certain improvement in the insecurity situation, the international community, the Haitian government, and its regional neighbors are once again resuming the country's stabilization agenda.

For the citizens who protested yesterday in several areas of Port-au-Prince, it is first necessary to replace the country's highest representatives.