ABSTRACT
The general policies announced by the prime minister were in keeping with the objectives of the Lavalas Project. The Preval government planned to form an interdepartmental council that would work with the various ministries to study and recommend policies to achieve the government's administrative, political, economic, and cultural objectives. The Lavalas government went on the offensive on many fronts. Though it achieved mixed results with its attempted reforms in the military, public administration, magistracy, and public enterprises, there is no question that the measures it took struck at the heart of the old regime's power base and intensified the antagonism between the promacoute camp and the Aristide government. Despite the government's moderate economic policies, members of the Haitian bourgeoisie, especially the few powerful families that dominated the private sector, withheld their support from the government. The government also prevented importers from hoarding foodstuffs and inflating food prices by fixing the price of certain basic food items.
