Martelly government cracks down on Haitian protests - World Socialist Web Site

26.10.13

Martelly government cracks down on Haitian protests - World Socialist Web Site: Underlying the popular upheavals is protracted social deprivation. Nearly three years after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, one third of the 1.5 million Haitians who were left homeless are still without permanent shelter. The cholera epidemic, a result of the UN’s military occupation of the country, has killed more than 7,400 people, and this past spring had developed a new strain, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In July, The New York Times reported that the epidemic had killed 400 people and sickened 50,000 over the previous three months...Against this backdrop, Martelly—a former musician who was given the nickname “Sweet Mickey” by the head of the national police after the 1991 coup—has put forward the slogan “Haiti is open for business.” In other words, he intends to repress any popular movement that threatens profits.