Struggling People's Organization

The Struggling People's Organization (French: Organisation du peuple en lutte, Haitian Creole: Òganizasyon Pèp Kap Lité, OPL) is a Haitian political party originating from the Lavalas political movement. The OPL grew apart from Lavalas gradually during the 1990s before making a final break in 1997, when the party's name was changed from Organisation Politique Lavalas to its present appellation. The split of Fanmi Lavalas from OPL meant that the new Lavalas (or Fanmi Lavalas) would have few of the intelligentsia that had at one time supported Aristide.

The OPL formed a majority of the Haitian Parliament from 1995 to 1997, and named Rosny Smarth as Prime Minister. The OPL was an important supporter of privatization and economic austerity measures, looking to lay off thousands of public sector workers to please international financial institutions. After being declared the losers of the 1997 legislative elections, the OPL denounced the results as fraudulent. OPL has been heavily financed by foreign governmental agencies^{[citation needed]} and took part in the destabilization campaign against Haiti's constitutional government (2001-2004). In the presidential elections of 7 February 2006, its candidate Paul Denis won 2,62 % of the popular vote. The party won in the 7 February 2006 Senate elections 6.0 % of the popular vote and 3 out of 30 Senators. In the 7 February and 21 April 2006 Chamber of Deputies elections, the party won 10 out of 99 seats. It now forms part of the governing coalition under Jacques-Édouard Alexis.[1]

OPL is an observer party in the Socialist International.^[1]

References

1. ^ http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=931

External links

• Party website