Fanmi Lavalas governments advocate a policy of "growth with equity" based on Western European social democratic principles.

Fanmi Lavalas governments have emphasised investment in education and health care as their priorities and have refused International Monetary Fund austerity measures.

The establishment of the Lavalas movement as a formal political party, renamed Fanmi Lavalas, took place in 1996 as a split by Aristide from the Struggling People's Party (OPL) over the question of his resumption of the three years he lost in exile following the 1991 coup [3] Two main reasons for its creation are known: (1) to allow the Lavalas movement to remain inclusive while opposing the neo-liberal policies of the foreign-influenced OPL, which was one of the conditions for Aristide's return to power in 1994; (2) to prevent rival politicians from taking over the movement's leadership from Aristide and other more left-wing leaders.

[citation needed] Lavalas candidates boycotted the election for the most part, but its voters supported the emergence of Preval's Lespwa party.

The performance of the Fanmi Lavalas party in Haitian elections has been difficult to measure since the 2004 coup d'état that toppled it from power as it has been repeatedly excluded from the democratic process.