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Haitian President Jovenel Moise during an interview with Reuters, January 11, 2020. REUTERS / Valerie Baeriswyl

The Haitian political crisis worsened this Monday, January 13. As the legislative elections did not take place as planned in November, the Parliament is today dysfunctional and President Jovenel Moïse can now govern by decree. On the first day of this undemocratic political reality, Jovenel Moïse spoke of "historic opportunity".

with our correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Amélie Baron

Two minutes after midnight Monday morning, Jovenel Moïse had already posted two messages on Twitter to endorse the lapse of Parliament.

This Monday, January 13, 2020, brings back the end of the 50th legislature. We note the lapse of Parliament and we take note of this institutional vacuum caused by the departure of the Chamber of Deputies and 2/3 of the Senate.

President Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) January 13, 2020

During a press briefing given in the afternoon at the national palace, the Haitian president did not expressly express regret about this situation. " At the executive level, we have no desire not to organize elections in the country, " said Jovenel Moïse. But we are in a situation of fact and that is why I take this opportunity to say that this is a historic opportunity for us, the driving forces, to come together to find the right direction for the country . "

According to Jovenel Moïse, the absence of deputies and two-thirds of senators allows a budget saving of more than 14 and a half million euros. A sum he would like to allocate to the construction of ten high schools in the country. An announcement that does not take into account the fact that the budget mentioned is that of the 2017-2018 fiscal year because no national budget has since been approved. In 2017, Haiti had a growth rate of 1.5%. Today the economy is in recession with a reduction in GDP of 1.2%.