Don’t be Surprised or Discouraged. Revolutions Take Time.

The strong U.S. support for Haiti’s de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry seems to come from very high up. It looks a lot like a criminal agreement between hit-men and dark forces to hide certain truths in a shady affair.

The Core Group’s alleged rationale of appointing Ariel Henry as interim Prime Minister under the pretext that he was named on Jul. 5, 2021 by President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated 36 hours later, is a lie which no longer deceives anyone. It is clear they had another reason for putting him in the post.

The recent statements, which we highlighted last week, of three Biden Administration officials – Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires for Haiti Eric Stromayer, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller – defending Henry and his illegitimate regime make it clear that the White House bears the ultimate responsibility for the stubborn and provocative conduct of these lackeys it has placed in power in Haiti. Like its complicity with the genocidal Israeli government, this is not surprising. We’ve always known that U.S. imperialism is the principal enemy of the Haitian people, undermining us economically and politically so it can justify military occupations that will safeguard its interests.

Imperialism conceived and engineered the assassination of Charlemagne Péralte a century ago, and of so many other progressive Haitian leaders since that time. Its role is obvious in the current situation, although it always seeks to posture as a disinterested, helpful outsider.

Only a total upheaval will disrupt this imperialist laboratory which reproduces puppet leaders who have no patriotic conscience.

The country is on the edge of the abyss. Workers, unionists, activists, and young people of all tendencies are faced with exploitation, insecurity, and repression. These citizens have no choice but to unite to transform their popular demands into a revolution. Their first demand: Ariel Henry’s resignation, which he promised would be Feb. 7, 2024. But beyond that, the Haitian people want to completely overthrow this crumbling system.

If Henry resists this uprising and clings to power, it is because he still has confidence that Washington, which hardly wants things to change, stands behind him.

On the other hand, he might step down and pass the power to the President of his High Transitional Council (HCT), Mirlande Manigat. Or they might acquiesce to the persistent pleas for power-sharing from the Montana Group, the famous “Haitian-led” alternative to Henry. But this would be just the continuation of the imperialist project. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

There is only one solution, as the slogan says: Revolution. There is no other way to eradicate these evils that are killing us than to bring down the system. Only a total upheaval will disrupt this imperialist laboratory which reproduces puppet leaders who have no patriotic conscience.

Mobilizing the people in the name of the revolution is a first crucial step that we have just taken and which we must maintain at all costs. Let us remember, even if we throw off today’s puppets and reject our rotten political class, we have only just begun. We will have a mountain to climb, and many mountains beyond that. Immediately, imperialism will turn its fury on us, seeking to divide and confuse us, to sabotage and destroy our embryonic project of a new society.

The revolution will not triumph in a day, in a week, in a month, or even in a year. A revolution requires persistent, difficult, disciplined work. This is a long-term and tedious task. It cannot be accomplished in a hasty, slapdash, spontaneous, thoughtless way. It requires discussion, struggle, trial-and-error, conscientiousness, consciousness, hard work, and sacrifice… and lots of time.

A political revolution tomorrow – the removal of Henry – does not mean the end of the struggle but rather its beginning. Other lapdogs will rush to take his place. His bosses are not going to make this easy for us. The tentacles of the imperial monster are already in Haiti and even present in our popular mobilizations.

So be ready for setbacks, but don’t be discouraged. As our flag says, from unity comes strength. We have many lessons to learn from our neighbors, the Cubans and Venezuelans, who have endured countless trials. Let’s build bridges with them rapidly.

Finally, an enduring revolution cannot be built around an individual or small clique. It must be led by a disciplined party, widely and deeply rooted in the people. This revolutionary party is the key to success, that can make us strong and resistant ideologically, economically, and politically.