Unified Party of Haitian Communists
Encyclopedia
The Unified Party of Haitian Communists was a political party
in Haiti
. PUCH was established in 1968 by the mergers the Popular Entente Party (founded in 1959) and the Party of Union of Haitian Democrats (founded in 1954 and was until 1965 called the People's Party of National Liberation). The declaration of merger of the two parties stated: "PUCH is the conscious and organized vanguard of the working class, fighting under the banner of the Marxist-Leninist ideology. The path of the Haitian revolution, as defined in the documents of PUCH - is the path of armed struggle, which must be carried out in response to the reactionary violence". PUCH was a clandestine party from its foundation. The party initiated a lot of work for agrarian reform
amongst the peasantry in the villages.
In 1969 the François Duvalier
regime launched a crackdown on the party. Various urban and regional party organizations were dismantled. Hundreds of PUCH activists were jailed and tortured. The Central Committee
secretaries Gérald Brisson and Raymond Jean Francois were killed, as were the members of the Port-au-Prince
committee Jacques Jeannot and Adrien Sansarik. The party was however, able to rebuild illegal party organs and mass organizations. In June 1971 the party leadership put forward an action programme for unity of all progressive forces fighting against the Haitian regime. In the 1980s, the party leadership was exiled in France
.
The PUCH sent a delegation to the 1969 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
held in Moscow
. The party endorsed the documents adopted at the meeting.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. PUCH was established in 1968 by the mergers the Popular Entente Party (founded in 1959) and the Party of Union of Haitian Democrats (founded in 1954 and was until 1965 called the People's Party of National Liberation). The declaration of merger of the two parties stated: "PUCH is the conscious and organized vanguard of the working class, fighting under the banner of the Marxist-Leninist ideology. The path of the Haitian revolution, as defined in the documents of PUCH - is the path of armed struggle, which must be carried out in response to the reactionary violence". PUCH was a clandestine party from its foundation. The party initiated a lot of work for agrarian reform
Agrarian reform
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures,...
amongst the peasantry in the villages.
In 1969 the François Duvalier
François Duvalier
François Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier first won acclaim in fighting diseases, earning him the nickname "Papa Doc" . He opposed a military coup d'état in 1950, and was elected President in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform...
regime launched a crackdown on the party. Various urban and regional party organizations were dismantled. Hundreds of PUCH activists were jailed and tortured. The Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
secretaries Gérald Brisson and Raymond Jean Francois were killed, as were the members of the Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
committee Jacques Jeannot and Adrien Sansarik. The party was however, able to rebuild illegal party organs and mass organizations. In June 1971 the party leadership put forward an action programme for unity of all progressive forces fighting against the Haitian regime. In the 1980s, the party leadership was exiled in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The PUCH sent a delegation to the 1969 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
1969 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
On June 5-17, 1969 an International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties was held in Moscow. The meeting occurred in the aftermath of the Sino-Soviet split and the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia...
held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The party endorsed the documents adopted at the meeting.