[Marxism] The free market - Haitians resort to eating dirt

[Greg Dunkel]

According to AlterPress, an online Haitian news service (www.alterpresse.org), the prices of basic food items in Port-au-Prince, like oil, rice, corn meal, beans, have gone up by 20 to 50% since the start of this year.  In Jean-Rabel in northwest Haiti, the poorest region of Haiti, prices have gone up by 70%.  While food is most affected, prices of shoes, clothes and household items like soap are also rising.

Fanmi Lavalas held a fairly big protest about these hike on Dec. 28 and agricultural students came out into the streets protesting government's reliance on foreign agriculture, mainly from the Dominican Republic (See Haiti-Progres and Haiti Liberte in French and Kreyol for details.)  Women's group also issued press statements, but right now the focus of attention is on the upcoming carnival.

/greg