Businesses and schools were closed in Haiti in September 2019 in response to widespread protests and looting in the country. The protests turned violent when Senator Ralph Fethiere allegedly fired a gun in the yard of the Haitian Senate, striking an AP photographer.
Protesters wish to see an end to government corruption and call for Jovenel Moise, Haiti’s president, to step down. Opposition leaders from Haiti’s parliament have joined the protesters in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The opposition has pointed to what they allege to be a pervasive bribery problem in the parliament, and have called for a transitional government to be established until elections can be held.
President Moise has resisted requests to relinquish power, though he did cancel a planned visit to the UN General Assembly, instead sending Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond to lead the Haitian delegation.
