Haiti: Protesters demand for President Moïse to resign following tax hikes in budget

Thousands took to the streets of Haiti’s capital Wednesday to demand President Jovenel Moïse step down following the publication of a national budget viewed as unfavorable to the country’s poor.

Since it was released in July, opposition lawmakers have decried the budget for fiscal year 2017-2018, saying it would balloon the debt of the country.

On Tuesday, protesters brought parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to a standstill. They directed their anger toward senators who voted for the 2017-2018 budget last week and the deputies who approved it Saturday.

Despite popular opposition, the government published the document in the official gazette late Tuesday.

That the president “published the budget is a provocation to the Haitian people and to us the political leaders,” said Jean-Charles Moïse, an opposition leader who spearheaded the demonstration.
“The people will decide his fate,” he said. “An alternative is being prepared, this time we take our fate in our hands,” he added.

The Haitian president left the country Sunday to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York and was due to deliver his speech Thursday and return to Haiti the following day.

More demonstrations are already planned for Thursday and Friday in the capital.