Haiti is one of the Caribbean countries with the lowest wages in addition to facing massive insecurity for the past several years. This insecurity—gangs—has taken over the economy of the working class. Our class is bearing the burden of the abysmal—and racist—organization of the state, as it funds corruption. The state is, in turn, a victim of and in collusion with the gangs, which in their turn are allowed to flourish through the action and inaction of the imperialist countries, especially the U.S. and their junior partners France and Canada.  

Since May 2026, the minimum wage in Haiti has been 1000 gourdes. This amounts to US$7.40 per day for work in the subcontracting sector (the minimum wage is determined by the sector of employment). This astonishingly low wage level has led to the ever-increasing pauperization of the working class: wages are low and stagnant, yet inflation has skyrocketed to 35 percent recently. The worst part of all this is that while workers suffer, they are also the central pillar which sustains an entire economy. 

Workers at the Group M2 garment factory, part of the CODEVI free trade zone, in Ouanaminthe, in the northeast of Haiti, went on strike in April against this starvation wage. Group M2, a British company, sells upscale clothing mainly to the U.S., produced by these Haitian workers in sweatshops for slave-like wages. The workers are demanding 3000 gourdes (US$23) per day, plus paid overtime, an increase over the current US$2.40 wage that has been in effect for about 10 years.

Insecurity as a form of accumulation in Haiti 

Since the presidency of Jovenel Moise, assassinated in 2021, and his fight against the demands of the working class (provide security against gang violence, lower the cost of living or create jobs, though he did manage to increase taxes on the workers!) gutter gangs have taken control of a continually growing portion of the capital, Port-au-Prince,  as well as attacking provincial towns, especially in the Artibonite department (in the center of Haiti), and in the Kenscoff suburbs southeast of Port-au-Prince in August where dozens were murdered and/or kidnapped. 

Now, it is mainly workers who are victims of acts of violence: rape, murder, and kidnapping, as well as the high cost of living generated by insecurity. In the last nine9 months, the gangs have killed nearly 1,500 workers and wounded nearly 800. It is not a new phenomenon, but self-defense groups have had some success in fighting back against the gangs, killing hundreds. Those efforts have been thwarted by the government when it accepted foreign mercenary police from Kenya. Those forces did little to stop the gangs, but their presence was used to dismantle neighborhood defense groups. 

If we consider the prices of consumer products and transportation, Haiti is one of the most expensive places to live, though with the most feeble means to do so. The cheapest plate of food costs 500 gourdes, which represents half of the minimum wage, not to mention that the prices of beverages increase constantly (the cheapest soft drink is 125 gourdes), and the cost of transportation eats up another big slice of wages. 
Haiti has 10 departments (states), but the entire economy flows from what is locally called “the Republic of Port-au-Prince” to the other departments. Goods are carried to other regions of the country by boat or by a complex system of poorly maintained roads over often mountainous terrain. Truck and bus drivers and boat pilots as well as casual travelers must pay fees to the gangs in order to pass through controlled areasalong the entire route. Moreover, the Haitian police show no willingness to put an end to this practice, and some cops take a cut of the money stolen from the workers. United Nations units numbering around 2,000 have failed at protecting Haitian workers in Port-au-Prince and Gonaïves, as have mercenaries, such as Eric Price’s Vectus Global (formerly Blackwater), who are paid to collect taxes at the Haitian–Dominican border.

Time to turn the fear and the guns around

The working class cannot live on their knees like this. Throughout history, the masses of workers have always fought back against their oppressors (see page 8). The insecurity aimed at destroying the lives of the working class should never keep the masses from fighting to live as a free people, worthy of their greatness.  

Capitalism can never bring peace or freedom to our class. But communism, the very foundation of liberation and well-being, can—and will. We want to uproot the system, not just those who lead it. We want liberty, equality and well-being for our class. Only communism will bring that. Let’s fight for a communist world with the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) today.