“The real problem is the inequalities” which have been reinforced with the Covid-19 crisis, according to an economist

“The real problem is inequalities” which have strengthened in Guadeloupe with the health crisis, explained Sunday November 21 on franceinfo Olivier Sudrie, overseas specialist and lecturer at the University of Paris-Saclay. He was reacting to the acts of violence that have shaken Guadeloupe for a week. “This sporadic crisis could be the trigger for a much deeper social crisis”, he warned.

franceinfo: Are the acts of delinquency in Guadeloupe isolated or do they reflect what all Guadeloupeans feel?

Olivier Sudrie: There are both. Certainly there is delinquency, but this sporadic crisis could be the detonator of a much deeper social crisis, and which has, at least, two ferments. The first that could explain the revolt is the increase in inequalities linked to the health crisis. In particular in Guadeloupe and Martinique, some are part of an invisible economy, but very real. They have not been under the tap of social assistance. Mechanically, inequalities have increased. The second ferment, perhaps a little more irrational, is that the anti-vax movement will resonate with another movement, much older, which is the chlordecone scandal. For some, the vaccine poses a risk of poisoning in the same way as chlordecone, which is obviously false. There is this speech which says that it is the same fight, a fight against an exterior which is brutal, and represented in part by the big planters, at the origin of the chlordecone problem. The other brutal exterior is the one that imposes the vaccine. All this refers to another imaginary, still anchored in the Antilles, it is the revolt against the master.

Do the young people who are currently looting and burning feel concerned by the history of slavery?

I’m not sure, but everything resonates and stains oil. As in any social movement there are slippages. We experienced the same thing in Saint-Martin following the passage of Irma, in Mayotte, or during national demonstrations with the black blocs.

Is the government’s security response the right one?

In the very short term, most certainly, but in the medium and long term probably not. You have to be more in listening and in dialogue. The real problem is inequalities. Perhaps the presidential campaign is a good time to open up this topic. Inequalities often find their source in school. Poorly trained, a large proportion of young people fail to integrate into the labor market. However, this non-integration is the mother of inequalities.


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