Haitian president, prime minister meet diaspora in North Miami
By Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, July 19, 2014
Before today, the town hall, called Gouvènman Lakay Ou, took place in regions around Haiti. But for the ninth edition, Lamothe decided to come north, a move that has been heavily criticized in Haiti, where the country is struggling financially and the government just backed down from plans to increase the price of gas to address a budget deficit.
Both Lamothe and Martelly, who made an unannounced appearance at the start of the dialogue inside the auditorium at North Miami Senior High School, defended the decision.
“Even if we had spent $50,000 to see people who are sending $2 billion to Haiti, we have not spent a lot of money. On the contrary,” Martelly said, directing his comments directly to the crowd. “We know that with you we can do a lot of things in Haiti ... with the power you have, the financial power and the expertise.”