"WE ARE IN SOLIDARITY WITH SOLIDARITY "
This interview was obtained by Livio Maitan in early December.
Santo Domingo
Question. The international press noted on several occasions that around the end of the 1970s, the Haitian government started leaning in a new direction, What can you tell us about this?
Answer. To be exact, the period concerned is that from 1977 to 1980. There was talk at the time of promoting an economy on the Hong Kong model in Haiti, turning the country into a sort of showcase of the West in the Caribbean. In fact, what development has taken place involved setting up assembly plants, beginning in 1972. A sort of economic free 24 zone emerged, in which about 40, 000 workers were employed (in the neighboring Dominican Republic, only half that figure work in the free zone).
The factories of that enclave are - но на не сто о.
assigned only highly fragmented tasks in the process of commodity example, with the production of baseballs. Almost all the balls used in this game so popular in the United States (Haitians prefer soccer) come from Haiti.
2- Hasn't this made for significant changes in the economy?
A- In fact, what development took place remained very limited and precarious. Even the free zone stopped developing and the overall situation remains literally dramatic. Between 40% and 50% of the active population are unemployed or underemployed, and the figure is closer to 65% in Port au Prince, the capital, which has 800, 000 inhabitants. The average per capita income is $150 per year (which places Haiti among the countries with the lowest incomes in the world). But 61% of the population only earns $60 and 17% of the peasant population barely makes $17 (a yearly income below $300 is considered the threshhold of absolute poverty). Life expectancy is from 40 to 50 years and child mortality is 14%. Illiteracy has reached a record high of 95%, and it is estimated that 40% of the population of the capital are homeless.
Haiti has remained an essentially agrarian country. The peasantry represents 80% of the economically active population, one of the highest
percentages in the world. Agricultural production accounts for 43% of the gross national product (GNP). The big landowners hold almost two thirds of the land and work it with superexploited agricultural laborers and sharecroppers. The penetration
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of typically capitalist forms in the - RÉPUBLIQUE D'HAÏTI countryside is definitely more limited than in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Q- Can you go over the 1977-1980 period from a political point of view?
A. Remember that this was the time of Jimmy Carter's demagogy about human rights. The United States pressured Jean- Claude Duvalier to initiate a certain "liberalization. " This did open some breaches. The press began to write more freely, and more importantly, some radio stations were able to attract an audience on the basis of an independent and critical attitude toward the rulers. The most significant case was that of Radio Haiti Inter.
At the same time, an important movement developed in the theater. Plays were put on in the village and town squares and met with great success when they expressed the feelings and aspirations of the people. The trade union movement also resumed some activity and major struggles occurred.
A similar process happened on campus. The National Union of Haitian Students (UNEH) --founded in 1959 and led by Communists--reorganized, A movement demanding the recognition of Creole as the official language emerged.
From the standpoint of JeanClaude Duvalier and his accomplices, the whole situation was getting out of hand.
Q- How did they react?
A- Ronald Reagan's election to the presidency of the United States was the signal for them to move. They lost no time. As early as November 28, 1980, they targeted the entire opposition and deported or imprisoned its most representative elements. Radio Haiti Inter was closed down and the theater movement outlawed. All the political parties and groups were thrown back to the strictest clandestinity.
Q- What political forces exist in Haiti?
A- Before the November 28, 1980, coup, there were two legal Social Christian parties. Now they've almost completely disappeared. Only the parties that look to the workers movement and their affiliated organizations have survived in the underground. The most influential is the
CUBA
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JAMAÏQUE: Kingston HONDURASE
Mer des Caraïbes Haitian Workers Party (PTH) which was founded in 1966; it originally had a Maoist position but now follows an independent course.
The PTH is an integral part of the Union of Haitian Patriotic and Democratic Forces (FOPADA) which also includes a Catholic socialist tendency. The IFOPADA stands for an anti-imperialist, antifeudal, and anti-dictatorial orientation and seeks to unite all anti-Duvalierist forces,
Secondly there is the United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH) which follows a pro-Soviet line; its main strength is among the emigres and its best-known leader is Gerard integral part of the UDEH (Haitian Democratic Union). Finally two new Communist groups have formed in exile--the "May 18" and "Forward"
Q- Could you say a few words about the history of the Haitian Communist movement?
A- The Haitian Communist movement began in the early 1930s. Between 1932 and 1945, it was grouped in the Haitian Communist Party (PCH). After 1946 a split occurred and two parties emerged. One kept the same name; the other was the Popular Socialist Party (PSP). In 1948, the PSP dissolved, in accordance with the ideas put forward at the time by North American CP leader Earl Browder. Later, the party reconstituted itself and conducted some legal work. In 1950, both components of the Communist movement--which had been legal since 1945--were banned.
In 1954, the PPLN (Popular National Liberation Party) was set up, and in 1959 various intellectuals who had previously belonged to the PCH founded the PEP (Popular Alliance
RÉPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE: ESan-Juan EPORTOERICO Party). Both these parties stood for Marxism-Leninism. Both experienced deep internal divisions, which led to splits. Finally there was a recomposition, out of which emerged the PUCH and the PTH.
For a long time, the PTH shared the Chinese Communist Party's and the Albanian Labor Party's criticisms of the Soviet leadership. But in 1976, we changed our attitude toward these two parties because we felt the Chinese also had a revisionist line.
2- What is the PTH attitude toward Cuba?
A- We feel that the emphasis now must be placed on solidarity against the imperialist threats, and not on criticisms. However, we believe that the Cubans are under Soviet influence and that their economic model is derived from the Soviet one.
Q- What do you think of the Polish events?
A- You know that in Haiti people have traditionally been interested in what happened in Poland. In the early 19th century, during the War of Independence, Polish soldiers in the French army came over to the Haitian patriotic forces. Furthermore, we began a criticism of the Polish revisionist leadership in 1966, when we established relations with Polish Marxist-Leninists. We believe Solidarnosc is a diversified movement in which some currents are under imperialist influence. But as a whole it is a mass movement against the bureaucracy and must be supported. Therefore we are in solidarity with Solidarnosc.
Q- Can you give us some idea of what the Haitian trade-union movement is like?
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A- Remember that between 1958 and 1965, Haiti had a very strong trade-union movement. It was a united movement. There was a single union in each workplace and a single confederation at the national level, the Haitian Inter-Union Union (UIH) which was led by the Communists. After 1965, the regime imposed its "yellow" unions through repression.
In 1970, new movements arose and a phase of recomposition began. Especially in 1978-79, there was work with the rank and file to reorganize a national confederation. The Communists resumed their leadership of certain unions, and strikes were called. At the same time, the Social Christians set up the Autonomous Confederation of Haitian Workers (CATH) with the help of Venezuela. But this was an artificial maneuver which found little support among the masses.
The November 28, 1980, coup opened a new phase of repression which included the elimination of Communists from the trade unions.
Q- What is the current situation? A- The situation is bad in that the mass movement is no longer mobilized. All activities must be carried out through strictly clandestine among the peasants. You should know that the PTH places great emphasis on work in the peasantry.
Q-What is your strategic perspective?
A- The PTH is an anticapitalist party which is presently waging an antiimperialist, antifeudal and anti-dictatorial struggle. We feel we must prepare for armed struggle. How else, really, can Jean-Claude Duvalier and his ferocious dictatorship be overthrown?
The PUCH also used to be for armed struggle, starting in 1959. But in 1978 it abandoned that orientation the better to take advantage of the regime's liberalization. It has not adopted a new position since the new wave of repression.
Q- Can one say that Jean-Claude Duvalier has managed to consolidate his regime?
A- Conflicts have existed for years inside the regime. They reflect the antagonism between the landowners and the comprador bourgeoisie which is combined with a racial rivalry. While the big landowners are Black, the compradors are most often White or Mulattoes. At this time, the latter have the upper and her family--a powerful bourgeois family--belong to the comprador class, and they are taking advantage of this. They also control the police. Moreover, the regime went through several serious brushes with Washington. For instance, Jean- Claude Duvalier always avoided setting up a strong army for fear it might become a potential alternative to his own regime. He preferred to beef up his militia, the tontons macoutes. Washington thought he should have built up a regular army.
Q-Do you think a conservative bourgeois alternative to Jean-Claude Duvalier exists?
A. I think it is extremely difficult for such an alternative to be concretized. That is why, incidentally, Washington hesitates to abandon Jean- Claude Duvalier.
Q- Is there anything else you would like to mention?
A- The Haitian people and all the victims of Duvalier's regime need the solidarity of all peoples, and especially of all the workers organizations of the world. It is imperative that this solidarity become more organized and visible than it has channels.
We are trying to set up rank-and-file committees, especially