CIVICUS discusses the status of people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic with Joseph Cherubin, a Haitian doctor and founder and executive director of the Sociocultural Movement of Humanitarian and Environmental Work (MOSCTHA). MOCSTHA is a civil society organisation that works for the wellbeing of the poorest and most excluded people in the Dominican Republic, promoting access to health services, community development and respect for human rights.
In the 19 May general election, which saw President Luis Abinader comfortably re-elected, Haitian migration was a campaign issue, as it has been before. Most candidates sought easy political gain by exploiting structural racist prejudice in Dominican society. In doing so, they further legitimised the systematic violation of the rights of Haitian migrants and their descendants born in the Dominican Republic, many of whom are denied citizenship rights.
Why did the ruling party win the election?
The main candidates in the 19 May election were the incumbent, Abinader, of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), former President Leonel Fernández of the People’s Force (FP) party and Abel Martínez, former national deputy of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). Abinader secured another four years in power by winning 58 per cent of the vote.
The PRM’s victory can be explained by the mobilisation of the anti-corruption agenda, with the performance of PLD governments in the past having been marred by corruption. Abinader sought to differentiate himself from his opponents by focusing strongly on investigating state fraud. The division of the PLD, from which Fernández split in 2019 to create the FP, also played an important role, as did the abstention of around 46 per cent of the electorate.
Narratives against the Haitian migrant population, a feature in most presidential candidates’ campaigns, were also key. For decades, the issue of migration has been the banner under which many candidates for elective office have campaigned, and this election was no exception. For years, this discourse has enabled violations of the rights of Haitian migrants living on Dominican soil and their descendants born in the country.
Did any of the candidates take a position in favour of Haitian migration?
No politician will speak positively about Haitian migration because they would risk losing popularity.
The majority of migrants in the Dominican Republic are from Haiti, Venezuela and the USA, in that order. But not all of them receive the same treatment, enjoy the same rights or have access to the same services. There’s a structural and political anti-Haitian racism that is deeply rooted in a section of the ruling class. In an attempt to win more votes and widen their audience, some politicians and media have echoed this discourse and exacerbated these feelings. Abinader was one of them. Under him, the government has increased deportations of Haitians, closed the borders and promised to build a wall between the two countries.
But it’s worth noting that Dominican people can coexist peacefully with Haitian people. Many Dominicans recognise that we Haitians are hardworking people who play a central role in the country’s economy. We are the ones who usually work in the construction, agriculture and domestic work sectors. Haitian labour is an important pillar of the Dominican Republic’s economic development. However, political leaders have negative attitudes in this regard.
What should Abinader’s priorities be for his second term?
The main challenge will be to implement the recommendations of international and regional human rights bodies on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This means ensuring that the entire population can exercise their human rights, including Haitian migrants and descendants. It will be particularly necessary to strengthen women’s access to politics, guarantee environmental protection, promote discrimination-free education and implement tax reform to tax those who have the most.
Comprehensive immigration reform is also needed to regularise the status of Haitian migrants who have been in the Dominican Republic for 40 or 50 years. A mechanism must be found to guarantee access to nationality for people denationalised as a result of a 2013 Constitutional Court ruling that stripped Dominican nationality from all those born on Dominican territory to foreign parents, the most affected being children of Haitian parents.
Finally, it’s essential that Haiti and the Dominican Republic improve their bilateral relations to achieve fraternal coexistence on the island they share.
Civic space in the Dominican Republic is rated ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with MOSCTHA through its website or its Facebook and Instagram pages, and follow @mosctha on Twitter.
