The Gas Crisis in Haiti
It is a known fact that the price of gas has skyrocketed across the world in the last few months. The problems are many. Social turmoil in Venezuela, the now eminent war with Iraq, are some of the reasons for this spike. In the United States, the average price of regular unleaded is now roughly $1.75, up from $1.45 a few months ago. But in Haiti, the price increase has been dramatic. It rose some 75 percent. That, naturally, has created unrest in a country already mired in social and political impasse. The reason that the price went up so much in Haiti as opposed to other countries is that the Haitian government had lifted subsidies on the price of gas. All other governments subsidize the price of gas to allow industries a competitive edge. But in Haiti, the subsidies have been legendary for their amount.
Some of the amortization started to weigh under the René Préval administration but the former president refused to do so for political reasons. Préval, who was governing under an executive decree after dissolving Parliament, knew the political backlash would be too great if he eased up on the gas subsidies even as the price of gasoline was increasing worldwide. Now his “twin” Jean-Bertrand Aristide has to deal with the decision.
Facing financial woes, Aristide lifted the subsidies in one fell swoop, sending the country’s already wobbling economy into a tizzy. While we believe the increase was inevitable, Aristide should have administered the remedy in more palatable doses. Furthermore,this sort of decision should be explained to the public so that they can understand the situation. Remaining silent during such a crisis is not the right way to govern, particularly from an administration where transparency is at the core of its platform. We’ve seen this over and over where the leadership does not communicate with people.
Democracy demands that a leader talks to its people and make sure that they understand, at each step, what’s going on, specially during a time of crisis. While this administration is adept at creating crisis, it falters every time in managing it properly.