Unrest and Protest in Haiti

On January 15th, protests began in Port-Au-Prince, capital of Haiti, calling for the resignation of President Jovenal Moise. Moise’s power has been unchecked since 2018 when elections should have been held for various local and legislative positions. In 2020, the parliament of Haiti was dissolved, giving the President even more room to make decisions for all people. The nation of more than 11 million people has grown increasingly unstable under Moise, who received more than 50 percent of the vote but with only 21 percent voter turnout. Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that struck in 2016. Its economic, political and social woes have deepened, with gang violence resurging, inflation spiraling and food and fuel becoming more scarce at times in a country where 60 percent of the population makes less than $2 a day. Some in the international community also condemned several of Moise's decrees. One of those limited the powers of a court that audits government contracts and had accused Moise and other officials of embezzlement and fraud. Haiti is preparing for more protests as Moise intends to hold onto office until February 2022 because of a misunderstanding of when he was officially put into power and the length of his five year term, while the people and opposition say his term ends in February 2021. The former president left office in 2016 but Moise believes that he gained power in early 2017 because of inaugural delay due to political unrest and protests. President Moise also intends to call for a referendum to change the current constitution put in place in 1987, which opposition leaders believe will be used to give more power to the current president.