22386: Simidor Re: 22365: Walton: RE: the Grupo M plant Closing (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Simidor <karioka9@mail.arczip.com>


Robert Walton wrote:
>
>What prevents the workers from organizing a coopertive to manage the plant
>and resume manufacture?  The cooperative would market its production and pay
>the workers a living wage.  It seems to me that the government would support
>such a venture if the cooperative returns a portion of its income to the
>state as taxes or as a rent.
>

I like Walton’s idea, but it would take heavy government involvement, financially and otherwise, to make it happen.  It would also take a massive and fully mobilized grassroots movement, and a strong and well- structured trade-union sector, to push the government in that direction.  This is the kind of development alternative Haitian progressives and the international solidarity movement need to create public opinion for.

Another alternative, one that is feasible in today’s political context, would be for a consortium of Haitian investors to take over once Grupo M pack their bags and leave.  (Which by the way is not a given -- the bait for the Dominican investors was after all not only Haiti’s cheap labor force, but its preferential quota on the US market, at a time when the Dominican quota has already maxed out.)

The various Haitian and Haitian-American chambers of commerce in the 184 Group should put their money where their mouths are.  Their so-called Social Contract calls for more investments in the Haitian economy, and also includes a commitment for a living wage for their workers.  The government too would have to be serious about promoting local investments.  This includes improving the area’s infrastructure (roads, telecommunications and the usual utilities), as well as tax incentives for the would-be investors, and decent benefits and services for the labor force.

Aristide’s selling out of the Haitian quota to the Dominican oligarchy was an aberration, and was more than likely fueled with corruption.  At a time when bi-partisan effort is pushing the HERO Act through the US Congress, what was Aristide’s development strategy?  To sell out the benefits to his Dominican buddies?  Mr. Latortue at least knows better than this.  His government should launch a corruption probe into Aristide’s dealings with the Grupo M oligarchs, AND work with Haitian would-be investors to keep the zone open.  This is the kind of timely initiative that matches well with his short-term mandate.

Beyond the Latortue transition, and I hope this will emerge as a strong theme in the coming elections, there must be a new policy to encourage Haitian immigrants to invest cooperatively in the development of their places of origin.  The remittances people already send to their relatives at home feed into the subsistence economy.  But much more is needed.  There are thousands upon thousands of immigrants from the Northwest alone in the US and in Canada.  It would only take 200 people to invest one month’s rent into a cooperative, to jumpstart the development of a town like Bassin Bleu or Bombardopolis.  Instead of a mostly decorative Ministry for Haitians Abroad, what we need is a new “cooperation ministry” to facilitate small cooperative development efforts throughout Haiti’s 135 communes.

Someone wrote here in the past few days that they were optimistic about Haiti’s future.  I, too, am strongly optimistic about Haiti’s potential.  As long as we can tame the twin beasts of corruption and despotism, we can reduce our dependency on foreign handouts.  Another theme for the coming elections should be accountability: we need some mechanism to rein in our rulers’ atavistic proclivities.

Daniel Simidor