STRIKE PROTESTING GAS PRICES FAILS

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000611 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR S/CRS WHA/EPSC EB/IFD/ODF EB/IFD/OMA STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN EAID ECON PGOV HA SUBJECT: STRIKE PROTESTING GAS PRICES FAILS REF: PAP 554 ¶1. A general strike declared by the Driver,s Association of Port-au-Prince for April 3 to protest the rise in gasoline prices failed. The Association,s President Jean Marie Chateau had called on Port-au-Prince residents to stay home to protest the recent rise in price of gasoline at the pump, which rose by 12 per cent as a result of increased world market prices. (Note: In Haiti, gasoline prices have an excise tax of 90 per cent based on cost, insurance and freight valuation. Gasoline prices in the provices are ten to 20 per cent higher than in Port-au-Prince to cover additional transportation costs. End note.) However, after a slight early morning slowdown on the day of the strike, the streets were crowded with market activity, children were in school, and the usual traffic jams lined the streets of Port-au-Prince by mid-day. ¶2. Comment: A rise in the price of gasoline squeezes an already overburdened population. An increase in world market prices affects the price (or, in the case of electricity, scarcity) of everything else. Food prices increase since much of the food sold in Port-au-Prince is transported in from Haiti's outlying provinces. Already, electricity has been minimal since the government cannot affort to buy the fuel necessary to power the plants (reftel). Many Haitians, particularly in Port-au-Prince, rely on tap-taps, colorfully-decorated vans and pick-up trucks, to get around town. The tap-tap fare is fixed, but could increase as the cost of transportation rises. SANDERSON