the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jan 29, 2024
This article is translated from the January 2, 2024, issue #312 of La Voix des Travailleurs (Workers Voice), the paper of the revolutionary workers group active in Haiti.
Grafted onto the exploitation of working-class labor, the theft of the country’s resources, and corruption, the war of armed gangs has only added to the reign of barbarism of the bourgeoisie that has been in place for ages. Only the struggles of those who suffer and pay the highest price, that is, only the struggles of workers, poor peasants and the unemployed, can put an end to this infamy.
The end-of-year festivities showed the contrast. For the big retailers, it was the time to make their sales for the year. Their advertising was all over the media. The movement of their goods, though disrupted, was even made possible by paying a high price to the gangs. Small-scale festivities were held in some parts of the capital. In some hotels, in their beautiful homes, the privileged minority had a good time.
The leaders of the armed gangs were not to be outdone. They too feasted. In their rat holes, they brought in prostitutes and booze, not forgetting to throw a few wads of cash or small trinkets at a few locals.
The situation is quite different for the overwhelming majority, who are the victims of gang violence and exploitation by the ruling classes. For, despite a few crocodile tears shed over the deteriorating situation and the country’s descent into an abyss, the ruling classes put up with the gang violence that crushes the working class and the exploited masses. The thugs have given them a reign of impunity, chaos, anarchy, and the fear they crave to enrich themselves.
Workers in the industrial zone spent the festive season with little or nothing. Many workers expressed their anger at the pitiful end-of-year bonuses they received, which are useless because of the high cost of living. Hundreds of workers at André Apaid Junior’s Premium factory are still fighting against their boss, who wants to reduce their severance pay to a mere pittance.
Inhabitants of Mariani, Carrefour Feuille, Cité Soleil, Croix-des-Bouquets and many other neighborhoods are subjected to the barbarity of bandits who attack their neighborhoods, set fire to their homes, rape their daughters and kill their fathers. For these people, there was no respite even during the festive season. The gangs and the bourgeoisie are constantly at war with them.
This situation is likely to get worse in 2024 for the working classes. Nobody is going to do them any favors. They must not rely on the circuses of politicians, on the illusions of the supporters of imperialism, who have only one aim: to prolong their suffering. The only force capable of turning the tide will come from the organized mobilization of all the exploited masses throughout the country. Let’s resist and prepare this counter-offensive.