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Haiti Other Groups
The Duvaliers suppressed labor unions. A number of
loosely
organized unions and federations emerged after the fall of
JeanClaude , but labor generally lacked institutional
development
(see Labor
, ch. 3). Unions exercised little clout in industry.
Their
importance as pressure groups, however, grew during the
post-Duvalier period. Professional and trade associations
played
an active political role in the fall of Jean-Claude
Duvalier and
during the period that followed. The most active
associations
represented teachers, students, agronomists, physicians,
journalists, lawyers, and engineers. The Association of
Industries of Haiti (Association des Industries d'Haïti),
representing businesspeople involved in the assembly
industry,
exercised a great deal of influence over government
economic
policy. The two Port-au-Prince chambers of commerce--the
Chamber
of Commerce and Industry of Haiti (Chambre de Commerce et
de
l'Industrie d'Haïti) and the Haitian-American Chamber of
Commerce
and Industry (Chambre de Commerce et del'Industrie
HaïtianoAméricaine --Hamcham)--were less active after 1986 than
they had
been under Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Association of Coffee
Exporters (Association des Exportateurs de Café--Asdec)
had long
exerted influence in politics and the economy.
Approximately ten human rights organizations functioned
in
Haiti in 1989. Although most formed after the fall of
Jean-Claude
Duvalier, one had been in existence since the late 1970s.
Most of
these organizations maintained their headquarters in
Port-au-Prnce. A number of them had links to Haitians who
lived
abroad or who had been exiled during the Duvalier era.
Some
individuals working in human rights harbored broader
political
ambitions, and they sought to influence presidential
politics.
Data as of December 1989
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