Haiti Is At Crisis Pitch 1. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article236506783.html#storylink=mainstage_lead 9:01 AM 10/25/2019 Aftershock of Haiti protests: Best Western shutting down, other hotels temporarily closing BY JACQUELINE CHARLES OCTOBER 22, 2019 07:04 PM, UPDATED OCTOBER 22, 2019 10:25 PM After Haiti’s cataclysmic 2010 earthquake, the country rebuilt schools, churches and its tourism brand. Airlines expanded service and luxury brand hotels, boasting vibrant Haitian works of art, opened while others expanded. But more than a year of recurring fuel shortages, violent protests and currency devaluation is starting to take its toll as the owners of the Best Western Premier, the first U.S.-branded hotel to return to Haiti in 15 years, announced its permanent closure at the end of this month. The surprise announcement comes on the heels of some temporary hotel closures and staff layoffs in tourism and other sectors as conditions in the country worsen. Haiti is facing a looming constitutional crisis, four unsuccessful attempts to confirm a new government, a deteriorating security environment and a sixth week of protests over demands that President Jovenel Moïse step down. ===== HaitiPoliticalCrisis(5) Thousands of Catholic faithful, clergy, and protesters joined the march showing solidarity with suffering Haitians and calling on the government to take responsible action that is in the best interest of the country. Rebecca Blackwell AP On Tuesday, thousands of Catholic faithfuls carrying rosaries and protest signs took to the streets of the capital and other cities in a nationwide march organized by the Conference of the Religious. While the Church has been critical of Moïse, the protest is considered a bold move by religious leaders, who announced that parochial schools would remain closed until the crisis is resolved. Addressing followers inside the Port-au-Prince cathedral amid chants of “resignation,” and “Too much blood has been spilled. Jovenel has to go,” Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor called on Haiti’s leaders to listen to the voice of the people and to “take a wise decision to permit people to live as people.” “People cannot go on any longer,” Mésidor said. “We are fed up.” With the deepening political crisis growing each day and fanning what the Catholic Church calls “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” the economic aftershocks risk hurting Haiti more than the devastating 2010 earthquake that knocked down buildings and claimed numerous lives, experts said. “The real economy is collapsing,” said economist Kesner Pharel. “The closing of many firms, particularly in the tourism sector, like hotels and restaurants, have a negative impact on the real economy. ... Many people in the fragile middle class have lost their jobs in the closing of many companies that could not survive the crisis.” ===== HaitiPoliticalCrisis(6) People walk past Notre Dame Cathedral, destroyed in the 2010 earthquake, during a march called by religious leaders in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. While large groups of marchers sang religious songs and prayed, many also chanted political slogans calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, including “Jovenel must go,” and “Too much blood has been spilled.” Rebecca Blackwell AP Meanwhile, a contract war between the presidential palace and three private power providers — triggered by the Moïse administration’s sudden demand for payments and threats by a presidential adviser that contracts can be canceled and companies nationalized — risks plunging Haiti not just further into blackout, but exacerbating the crisis. “The incapacity of the political leaders to solve the political crisis is greatly affecting the new fiscal year that started this month, and could affect the economic growth for 2020,” Pharel said. He noted that the last five years of political instability have “reduced the growth to less than 2 percent, which is too weak to reduce poverty in the population.” 1mHxl.So.56.jpeg More than 600 Haitian works of art adorn the upscale Best Western Premier in Petionville. Designer Pascale Théard worked with more than 100 Haitian artists to create its art, furnishings and accent pieces. But the Best Western Premier announced it is shutting down amid Haiti’s economic and political crisis. Jacqueline Charles MIAMI HERALD STAFF Christopher Handal, the president of Carabimmo SA, said the decision to close and terminate its franchise with Best Western International was “a financially wise decision” that took a lot of courage. “It saddens all of us to see that we have to send almost 100 people home. However, we could not hold on any longer,” Handal said about the hotel located in the upscale suburb of Petionville. “Since July 2018, we have been struggling to stay open due to so many riots going on, on almost a weekly or monthly basis. When the USA put the travel [warnings] to level 4, it also discouraged all tourists, any foreigner or diaspora, to travel to Haiti.” Designer Pascale Theard, who worked with more than 250 artisans and artists to design everything in the hotel including the sheets, called what’s happening “a terrible economic tsunami,” that will lead to other businesses closing. “In September we did only 10 percent of our local sales and this month it is going to be zero,” she said, referring to her own business, which sells handmade leather purses and sandals. “The Best Western, from my experience, was a little example of how great things happen when we, as Haitians, dream together, get together and build together.” Read Next HAITI Haiti’s recurring fuel shortage has country’s professional and working class on edge SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 11:21 AM While Haiti’s economic malaise preceded Moise’s Feb. 7, 2017, inauguration, it has deepened during his 32 months in office through a series of economic missteps. First, there was the August 2017 decision to “de-dollarize” the Haitian economy by forbidding the use of the U.S. dollar and making the gourde, the domestic currency, the only official currency in transactions. The decision was eventually reversed, but not before the gourde further depreciated against a strong U.S. dollar. Then came the administration’s decision in July 2018 to increase fuel pump prices by removing subsidies. Days of violent civil unrest accompanied by rioting, pillaging and the cancellation of international flights quickly ensued. At one point, a crowd of protesters even tried to gain access to the Best Western. When they couldn’t get through the front door, they set a car parked out front on fire. The widespread protests were soon followed by more mass demonstrations in October and November, and a nearly two week lockdown of the capital in February. The lockdown led to “Do Not Travel” warnings from Canada and the U.S., an Expedia block on hotel and airline reservations and a reduction of flights. And just as tourism appeared to be making a comeback after an uptick in summer travel, Spirit Airlines quietly canceled its Cap-Haitien service 14 months after announcing its expansion to the city amid great fanfare, and American Airlines announced a reduction to its daily Haiti service. HaitiPoliticalCrisis(3) Catholic faithful participate in prayers for Haiti at Christ the King Church ahead of a march called by religious leaders in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. Rebecca Blackwell AP “I really hope that one lesson that is learned by all Haitians today by this closure is that the country cannot go on living in such a manner,“ Handal said. Steve Mc Intosh, a hotelier in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, said the crisis “is the worst I’ve seen in Haiti in a while.” Last week, he announced a temporary closure of one of his two hotels, the Mont Joli. Considered a landmark, the 42-room hotel, which sits on a mountaintop overlooking the historical city, first opened its doors in 1954. “I have to tell you we’ve been closed for a few months now. We have no clients coming to the hotel,” Mc Intosh said. “Our average occupancy rate is around 62 percent or 70 percent, and we have seen it for the past few months go down to 30 percent, 20 percent and for about a month now we have been at zero percent occupancy.” Compounding the hotel’s economic woes, Mc Intosh said, has been the inability to get diesel over the past three weeks. Forced to ration fuel, some hotels have been turning away guests because they don’t want to turn on generators and operate at a loss. Play Video Duration 2:08 The Best Western Premier in Haiti Haiti's Best Western Premier hotel is more than an upscale property. It is a tribute to Haitian artisans with more than 600 pieces of artwork on display inside. BY JACQUELINE CHARLES Meanwhile, there is no propane available for cooking anywhere in the city and a lot of businesses have had to put their staff on unpaid leave. “They don’t have any food, any water, any propane gas, so the people are getting angrier and angrier every day,” Mc Intosh said. “People are really angry and frightened.” Mc Intosh said his decision to close the Mont Joli came after a crowd showed up at the hotel and someone threatened his security guard with a machete. Prior to that, protesters had destroyed all of the windows in the restaurant at his other property, the Roi Christophe, which is located next to a police headquarters and jail. Two weeks after the restaurant incident, protesters covered the parking lot with charred glass bottles. The final straw, Mc Intosh said, was last week’s machete incident. “We have protests happening almost every day,” he said. The repeated protests, which have turned violent at times, are creating what some believe is the second biggest shock after the quake. Bertrand Buteau, whose family owns the Satama hotel in Cap-Haitien and three others in Port-au-Prince, said the Satama remains open “even though we don’t have customers.” His brother Richard, who runs the Karibe in Petionville, said their other properties are also functioning but with a reduced staff. “Some hotels in the provinces have been suffering a lot from the effects of the road blockages ... and are closing down temporarily until things get back to normal,” Richard Buteau, a former president of the Haiti Tourism Association, said. HaitiPoliticalCrisis(7) Thousands of Catholic faithful, clergy, and protesters joined the march showing solidarity with suffering Haitians and calling on the government to take responsible action that is in the best interest of the country. Rebecca Blackwell AP Businessman Fred Beliard said the occupancy at two of his properties in Cap-Haitien is less than 10 percent while his Habitation Jouissant, located not far from the Mont Joli, is temporarily closed due to the crisis. Along the coast, the all-inclusive Royal Decameron Indigo Beach Resort & Spa on the Côte des Arcadins in Montrouis says it’s still open although it has reduced the staff by half and only nine of the 400 rooms are occupied due to roadblocks cutting the hotel off from both Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince. “We have been here since 2015 and we are doing everything to make it work,” said Fernando Gracia, the property’s general manager for operations. “We are doing everything to stay and help the community and tourism in Haiti.” Frantz Duval, editor of Le Nouvelliste newspaper, said while the closure of the Best Western Premier is a catastrophe and a dent on the image of Haiti, it is only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone, he said, is worried about the future of the country while the “politicians of all stripes play Russian roulette with the country.” In a tweet, Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond, who is acting tourism minister, said he was deeply saddened by the decision of some hotel investors to close their doors, which has resulted in the loss of several direct and indirect jobs. “Our dear Haiti is the only loser,” he said. 1 of 7 Thousands of Catholic faithful, clergy, and protesters joined the march showing solidarity with suffering Haitians and calling on the government to take responsible action that is in the best interest of the country. REBECCA BLACKWELL AP GALLERY Profile Image of Jacqueline Charles JACQUELINE CHARLES 305-376-2616 Jacqueline Charles has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for the Miami Herald for over a decade. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she was awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas. 2. Google Search result summary: "What are the current issues in Haiti? Environmental issues in Haiti include an historical deforestation problem, overpopulation, a lack of sanitation, natural disasters, and food insecurity. A major reason for these environmental issues is that there is not sufficient protection or management of the country's natural resources. "Who runs Haiti government? The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, a multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections. The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President, chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly. "Is it dangerous in Haiti? There is a high level of crime in Haiti. Some areas are worse than others, but there is a very real danger of violent crime everywhere in Haiti, and this includes assault, armed robbery, murder, kidnapping, and rape. The exception is Labadee, an area leased by a cruise ship company. 3. NY Times [Les Cayes focus report] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/world/americas/Haiti-crisis-violence.html Protesters last week in Les Cayes, Haiti, surrounded a vehicle that had been burned in a previous demonstration. Impassable roads have contributed to the country’s emergency. By Kirk SemplePhotographs by Meridith Kohut LÉOGÂNE, Haiti — The small hospital was down to a single day’s supply of oxygen and had to decide who would get it: the adults recovering from strokes and other ailments, or the newborns clinging to life in the neonatal ward. Haiti’s political crisis had forced this awful dilemma — one drama of countless in a nation driven to the brink of collapse. A struggle between President Jovenel Moïse and a surging opposition movement demanding his ouster has led to violent demonstrations and barricaded streets across the country, rendering roads impassable and creating a sprawling emergency. Caught in the national paralysis, officials at Sainte Croix Hospital were forced to choose who might live and who might die. Fortunately, a truck carrying 40 fresh tanks of oxygen made it through at the last minute, giving the hospital a reprieve. “It was scary, really scary,” said Archdeacon Abiade Lozama of the Episcopal Church of Haiti, which owns the hospital. “Every day, things become more difficult, day after day.” Though the country has been trapped for years in cycles of political and economic dysfunction, many Haitians say the current crisis is worse than anything they have ever experienced. Lives that were already extremely difficult, here in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, have become even more so. Weeks of unrest around Haiti, coupled with rampant corruption and economic malaise, have led to soaring prices, a disintegration of public services and a galloping sense of insecurity and lawlessness. At least 30 people have been killed in the demonstrations in the past few weeks, including 15 by police officers, according to the United Nations. “There is no hope in this country,” said Stamène Molière, 27, an unemployed secretary in the southern coastal town of Les Cayes. “There’s no life anymore.” Image Newborns breathing with the help of oxygen tubes in the neonatal ward of Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne, west of Port-au-Prince. Hospitals are struggling with precarious supplies. Newborns breathing with the help of oxygen tubes in the neonatal ward of Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne, west of Port-au-Prince. Hospitals are struggling with precarious supplies. Image Trash piling up in Port-au-Prince, the capital, where many public services have collapsed. Trash piling up in Port-au-Prince, the capital, where many public services have collapsed. Gas shortages are worsening by the day. Hospitals have cut services or closed entirely. Public transportation has ground to a halt. Businesses have shuttered. Most schools have been closed since early September, leaving millions of children idle. Widespread layoffs have compounded chronic poverty and hunger. Uncertainty hangs over everything. Many Haitians with the means to flee have left or are planning to, while most who remain are simply trying to figure out where they are going to get their next meals. Haiti was once a strategic ally for the United States, which often played a crucial role here. During the Cold War, American governments supported — albeit at times grudgingly — the authoritarian governments of François Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, because of their anti-Communist stance. In 1994, the Clinton administration sent troops to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power after his ouster as president, but 10 years later, intense pressure from the United States helped push Mr. Aristide out again. Now, protesters are criticizing the United States for continuing to stand by Mr. Moïse. The Trump administration has urged respect for the democratic process, but has said little about the unrest in Haiti. “If you look at Haitian history, governments are overthrown when the United States turns on them,” said Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The current crisis is a culmination of more than a year of violent protests, and the product, in part, of political acrimony that has seized the nation since Mr. Moïse, a businessman, took office in February 2017 following an electoral process that was marred by delays, allegations of voter fraud and an abysmal voter turnout. Outrage over allegations that the government misappropriated billions of dollars meant for social development projects provided the initial impetus for the protests. But opposition leaders have sought to harness the anger to force his ouster, calling for his resignation and the formation of a transitional government. The protests intensified in early September, at times turning violent and bringing the capital, Port-au-Prince, and other cities and towns around the country to a standstill. Image Frustration with the government has mounted, leading to demonstrations like this one last week in the coastal town of Les Cayes. Frustration with the government has mounted, leading to demonstrations like this one last week in the coastal town of Les Cayes. Image Confronting security forces in Port-au-Prince this month. Opposition leaders have sought to harness Haitians’ anger to force the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. Confronting security forces in Port-au-Prince this month. Opposition leaders have sought to harness Haitians’ anger to force the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. “We’re not living,” Destine Wisdeladens, 24, a motorcycle-taxi driver, said at a protest march in Port-au-Prince this month. “There is no security in the country. There’s no food. There’s no hospitals. There’s no school.” Mr. Moïse has been defiant, saying in public comments last week that it would be “irresponsible” for him to resign. He has named a commission of politicians to explore solutions to the crisis. Amid the current turmoil, daily routines, never a sure thing in this vulnerable country, have been thrown even more deeply into doubt. With public transportation having ground to a halt, Alexis Fritzner, 41, a security guard making about $4 per day, walks about 10 miles each way to work at a clothing factory in Port-au-Prince. He has not been paid for more than a month, he said, yet he still goes to work for fear of being fired. “It’s because there are no other options,” he said. The mounting problems at Sainte Croix Hospital here in Léogâne are emblematic of the crisis. Though the town is only about 20 miles from Port-au-Prince, near-daily barricades have impeded traffic. Suppliers in the capital have been forced to close or have had trouble receiving imports, making medicine hard to get. At least one patient at the hospital died in recent days because of a lack of crucial medicine, said the Rev. Jean Michelin St.-Louis, the hospital’s general manager. It has been hard to wrangle fuel to run the hospital’s generators, its only power supply, he said. At times, ambulances have been blocked from crossing the barricades despite promises from protest leaders to the contrary. Some of the hospital’s staff members, including the chief surgeon, have not always been able to make it to work because of the protests. “It’s the first time I’ve been through such a difficult experience,” Father St.-Louis, 41, said. Image At Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne, patients like Gislaien Milord face dismal conditions. Recently the hospital was down to one day’s supply of oxygen, forcing difficult choices. At Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne, patients like Gislaien Milord face dismal conditions. Recently the hospital was down to one day’s supply of oxygen, forcing difficult choices. Image Lafontaine St. Fort says his leg was wounded by a police bullet during a demonstration. “The reason why I went to the protest was to make a better life for myself, and make a better country,” he said from his home in La Savane, a poor neighborhood in Les Cayes. Lafontaine St. Fort says his leg was wounded by a police bullet during a demonstration. “The reason why I went to the protest was to make a better life for myself, and make a better country,” he said from his home in La Savane, a poor neighborhood in Les Cayes. The crisis is particularly stark in Les Cayes, the most populous city in southern Haiti, which has effectively been cut off from the capital by barricades on the main road. The city endured a total blackout for nearly two months. The power company started to mete out electricity again earlier this month, though in tiny increments — a few hours on one day, a few more on another. The city’s public hospital shut down recently when protesters, angry over the death of one of their comrades, smashed its windows and destroyed cars in its parking lot. After the attack, the staff fled, said Herard Marc Rocky, 37, the hospital’s head of logistics. Even before the riot, the hospital was barely functioning. For three weeks, it had been without power after running out of fuel for its generators. Archdeacon Lozama, 39, who oversees an Episcopal parish in Les Cayes, said demonstrators forbid him from holding services on two recent Sundays. “We couldn’t open the doors,” he said. “People would burn the church.” Thieves have stolen the batteries from solar panels that provide electricity to the parish school. The keyboardist in the church music ensemble was recently wounded by a stray bullet. And protesters manning a barricade took food that Archdeacon Lozama was delivering by truck on behalf of an international charity. “There’s no one you can call,” he lamented. “There’s no one in charge.” Image Street protests have intensified in recent months. The turnout can bring even Port-au-Prince to a standstill. Street protests have intensified in recent months. The turnout can bring even Port-au-Prince to a standstill. Image Gas shortages have worsened daily, one of many persistent problems hobbling already harsh lives. Gas shortages have worsened daily, one of many persistent problems hobbling already harsh lives. People, he said, are desperate. “As they have nothing, they can destroy everything. They have nothing to lose.” Intersections throughout Les Cayes are scarred with the remains of burned barricades made with wood, tires and other debris, vestiges of near-daily protests. “I’m hiding out here, I’m hunkering down, I’m not even on my porch,” said Marie Prephanie Pauldor Delicat, 67, the retired headmistress of a kindergarten in Les Cayes. “I’m scared of the people.” Shop owners say sales have plummeted. Violent demonstrations have forced them to curtail their hours, and it has become harder to restock merchandise. Several regional opposition leaders, in an interview at a dormant nightclub in Les Cayes, blamed infiltrators sympathetic to the government for the violence. But they defended the roadblocks, saying they helped thwart the movement of security forces accused of aggressions against residents. “We get the support of the population despite it all, because all the population has the same demand: the departure of Jovenel Moïse,” said Anthony Cyrion, a lawyer. A wellspring of opposition in Les Cayes is La Savane, one of its most forlorn neighborhoods, where simple, rough-hewed homes line unpaved roads and the stench of open sewers commingles with the salty perfume of the Caribbean Sea. On a visit this month, reporters from The New York Times were surrounded by crowds of desperate and angry residents, each with a list of grievances against the government and accounts of utter despair. One young man opened his shirt to reveal a bullet wound in his shoulder. Another showed where a bullet had hit his leg. They blamed the police. “We are all victims in many ways!” shouted Lys Isguinue, 48. “We are victims under the sticks of the police! We are victims of tear gas! We are victims because we cannot eat! We are victims because we cannot sleep!” Image Much activity in Haiti has ground to a halt, with shops and schools closed, and incomes disastrously affected. Children in La Savane have been out of class since early September. Much activity in Haiti has ground to a halt, with shops and schools closed, and incomes disastrously affected. Children in La Savane have been out of class since early September. Image Venise Jules fights complete despair, and the hope that propelled her to vote for Mr. Moïse has vanished. “He said everything would change,” she recalled. “We would have food on our plates, we would have electricity 24/7, we would have jobs for our children and salaries would increase.” Venise Jules fights complete despair, and the hope that propelled her to vote for Mr. Moïse has vanished. “He said everything would change,” she recalled. “We would have food on our plates, we would have electricity 24/7, we would have jobs for our children and salaries would increase.” Venise Jules, 55, a cleaning woman at a grade school and the mother of Ms. Molière, the unemployed secretary, said her entire family had voted for Mr. Moïse. “He said everything would change,” she recalled. “We would have food on our plates, we would have electricity 24/7, we would have jobs for our children and salaries would increase.” Ms. Jules, three of her five children and a cousin live in a narrow house in La Savane made from mud and stone. The corrugated metal roof leaks when it rains. The bathroom is an outhouse with a hole in the ground. With no running water, the family has to fill buckets at a public tap several blocks away. They cook over coal — when they have something to cook. “I didn’t put anything on the fire today,” Ms. Jules said. It had been a full day since she had eaten anything. With the schools closed, Ms. Jules had been without work — or an income — for weeks. Even when she worked, earning $47 per month, she had not been able to amass any savings. Now she sends her children to eat at the homes of friends with something to spare. Her despair, she said, has driven her to consider suicide. On a recent evening, she sat with Ms. Molière, her daughter, in their house as it sank into the shadows of the night. Ms. Molière began to cry softly. Seeing her tears, Ms. Jules began to cry as well. “It’s not only that we’re hungry for bread and water,” Ms. Molière said. “We’re hungry for the development of Haiti.” “Haiti is very fragile,” she said. Image Blackouts in Les Cayes exacerbate people’s anxieties. “I’m hiding out here, I’m hunkering down, I’m not even on my porch,” said one woman fearful of what anger and desperation might drive people to do. Blackouts in Les Cayes exacerbate people’s anxieties. “I’m hiding out here, I’m hunkering down, I’m not even on my porch,” said one woman fearful of what anger and desperation might drive people to do. Harold Isaac and Meridith Kohut contributed reporting. Kirk Semple is a correspondent covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. He is based in Mexico City. @KirkSemple A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 21, 2019, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: All but Poverty and Despair Is at a Halt in Haiti. 3. Aug 28 article NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/world/americas/haiti-protests-moise.html?searchResultPosition=2 "Haiti Gripped by Violent Protests Amid Calls for President’s Ouster A burning barricade during a protest this week in Port-au-Prince. A burning barricade during a protest this week in Port-au-Prince.Credit...Jean Marc Herve Abelard/EPA, via Shutterstock By Azam Ahmed Sept. 28, 2019 MEXICO CITY — Burned-out cars, makeshift barricades and shuttered businesses signaled a week of unrest in Haiti, where protesters are demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse and more violent protests are feared. Streets, schools and banks were closed throughout the country, bringing the economy to a standstill. Shortages of oil, power and food abound. The nation’s currency is in free fall, and allegations of corruption linked to Mr. Moïse have brought the nation to a crisis point. “To me it is obvious: The president, particularly, doesn’t govern anything at all right now,” said Fritz Jean, a former prime minister and past governor of Haiti’s Central Bank. “In fact, we are in a state of vacancy right now.” Sign up for The Interpreter Subscribe for original insights, commentary and discussions on the major news stories of the week, from columnists Max Fisher and Amanda Taub. SIGN UP Mr. Moïse has not been seen publicly since Wednesday morning, when he issued a prerecorded address appealing for calm and offering to form a unity government in the aftermath of several failed attempts to appoint a new prime minister, who would be his fourth nominee in just over two years. ImageA protest in Cité Soleil on Friday. Protesters looted businesses, blockaded streets and set police cars ablaze. A protest in Cité Soleil on Friday. Protesters looted businesses, blockaded streets and set police cars ablaze.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Image A demonstrator surrendering to security forces in Port-au-Prince. A demonstrator surrendering to security forces in Port-au-Prince.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The message was roundly rejected by the political opposition and by Haitians on the street, who responded with spontaneous violent protests on Wednesday that culminated in demonstrations around the country. The resulting damage — burned and looted businesses, blockaded streets, cars set ablaze — has left Haitians fearing the worst. On Saturday, André Michel, a leader of the opposition, called for the country to remain shut down “until the resignation of Jovenel Moïse. No gifts will be given here.” “Those who are guarding the barricades blocking streets need to remain,” he said during a talk show on Saturday. Though Haiti seems to exist in a perpetual state of fragility, the current protests are the culmination of more than a year of turmoil, and almost three years of discontent with Mr. Moïse. Image Jean-Marie Féthière, a senator, firing a gun outside Parliament on Monday. Two were wounded. Jean-Marie Féthière, a senator, firing a gun outside Parliament on Monday. Two were wounded.Credit...Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters Image Fuel and food shortages, corruption and a weakening currency have helped spur protests across Haiti. Fuel and food shortages, corruption and a weakening currency have helped spur protests across Haiti.Credit...Jean Marc Herve Abelard/EPA, via Shutterstock The government is without a confirmed prime minister. Inflation is nearly 20 percent, growth is expected to be a paltry 1.5 percent, and the government has not voted on a budget in two years. The Haitian gourde, the nation’s currency, has fallen dramatically in the past five years. “If he doesn’t leave the country without conditions, we will resort to looting,” a protester, Cadet Jean Donis, said of the president. The current round of confrontation began with Mr. Moïse’s attempts in July 2018 to end fuel subsidies, a move encouraged by the International Monetary Fund. Though Haiti was in desperate need of cash, its people, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, revolted. The government canceled the plans hours later, but violent protests persisted, leaving at least seven dead. Fueling the discontent, in no small part, were corruption allegations that have long dogged the nation, most recently alleging misuse of billions in aid that flowed into the country after the 2010 earthquake. Editors’ Picks The Chicken’s in the Oven, My Husband’s Out the Door Wegmans Has Come to Brooklyn. Why Are New Yorkers Losing Their Minds? When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr. The fuel subsidy crisis precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant in July 2018. Mr. Moïse then named a new prime minister, Jean-Henry Céant, a well-known lawyer and former presidential rival, to form a unity government. Six months later, Mr. Céant was fired. Image Mr. Moïse has not been seen since Wednesday, when he issued a prerecorded address appealing for calm. Mr. Moïse has not been seen since Wednesday, when he issued a prerecorded address appealing for calm.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Image Smoke from burning tires in Port-au-Prince. Smoke from burning tires in Port-au-Prince.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images New problems surfaced months later, when Mr. Moïse was hit directly with corruption allegations after a Haitian court published a wide-ranging report on the nation’s mismanagement of a Venezuelan oil subsidy program. The report noted that two companies controlled by Mr. Moïse before he took office received the same government contract to build the same road in northwest Haiti. Though Mr. Moïse has denied the allegations, the report further outraged anti-corruption organizations and his opponents. A campaign spread widely on social media, calling for transparency and an accounting of how the money was spent. Protests connected to the campaign engulfed the nation in October and November of last year, bringing more violence and death. Image Demonstrators running from police on Friday. Demonstrators running from police on Friday.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Image People watched Friday’s demonstrations from a rooftop. People watched Friday’s demonstrations from a rooftop.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Since then, opposition senators have blocked Mr. Moïse’s next two choices for prime minister. The most recent hearing took place on Monday, and ended in chaos when a governing party senator, Jean-Marie Ralph Féthière, pulled out his gun and opened fire in the Parliament yard, wounding a photographer for The Associated Press and a bodyguard. In the past week, oil tankers have delivered fuel to the country, but the turmoil has made it difficult to resupply distributors. The cycle of economic and political turmoil has sapped the nation and left it in a state of gridlock. The most recent events, and in particular Friday’s protests, have left Haiti reeling. “We are telling the people who live in the Cité Soleil area and the Haitian population to rise up to overthrow this government,” Francois Pericat, a protester, told The Associated Press on Friday, referring to a poor and densely populated part of the capital, Port-au-Prince. “President Jovenel Moise is not doing anything for us, just killing us.” Image The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been roiled by protests all week. The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been roiled by protests all week.Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images =====