Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PORTAUPRINCE611
2006-04-04 17:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Port Au Prince
Cable title:
STRIKE PROTESTING GAS PRICES FAILS
how-toVZCZCXRO2090 PP RUEHQU DE RUEHPU #0611 0941745 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 041745Z APR 06 FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2728 INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1001 RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0848 RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC 0438 RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0873
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
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
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