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Haiti’s political crisis weighs on economic growth

Monday, January 13, 2020

Significance

Widespread political turmoil has prevented elections to choose new representatives and senators, as well as the approval of a budget. Protests against poverty and corruption have paralysed Haiti over the last year. The country is facing a severe humanitarian crisis amid high levels of inflation, rapid currency depreciation and a contraction in GDP. The IMF put a 229-million-dollar loan on hold in June 2019 and has made its support conditional on solving the political crisis and adopting measures needed to stabilise the economy.

Impacts

  • Anti-government protests will linger as the opposition continues pressuring Moise to step down.
  • Inflation is expected to pick up pace amid a weakening local currency and economic disruptions resulting from the political crisis.
  • The public deficit will increase in the short term, hampered by a decline in revenue collection due to the economic downturn.

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