President Jovenel Moïse last week appointed technocrat Fritz William Michel as his fourth prime minister since taking office in February 2017 after Jean Michel Lapin stepped aside after failing to get his government plan and cabinet approved by the bicameral legislature. President Moïse had appointed Lapin after Jean-Henry Céant quit in March following a no confidence vote [WR-19-11], after protests over the deteriorating economic situation and scandal surrounding the alleged embezzlement of funds from Venezuela’s discounted-oil initiative, Petrocaribe. The problem for Moïse, who has been implicated in the Petrocaribe scandal, is that a group of opposition legislators and civil-society groups have made it clear that their issue is not with the PM but with him, raising questions as to whether Michel will fare any better.End of preview - This article contains approximately 770 words.
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