The Duvalier regime compared to other dictatorships on Haiti during the middle of the 20th century

Paul Magloire’s regime

When Estimé was overthrown colonel Paul Magloire resigned for the junta and became a candidate for presidency. Facing no real opposition he won the election and assumed office December 6 1950. By Haitian standards Magloire’s rule was firm, not strict. He restored power to the elite, the government and the companies, he imprisoned political opponents, shut down the press when he didn’t take their criticism any more and took up large foreign loans. Labor unions were allowed to function although they could not go to strike. However he succeeded most previous presidents when it came to corruption. Magloire had the soap, sisel and cement monopoly. Along with other government officials he built huge mansions, and when Hurrican Hazel came to Haiti in 1954 he received tons of foreign aid that went straight into his wallet. Like so many of his predecessors he attempted to manipulate the constitution to make his term longer. Politicians, intellectuals, labor leaders and their followers protested against Magloire’s attempt to remain in power after his term, and a strike eventually shut down all of Port-au-Prince. Magloire ended up fleeing to Jamaica, and leaving the junta in control again.

The Duvalier election

The time before Duvalier came to power was a chaotic one. There were three provisional presidents in office during this time, one resigned and the army disposed of the two others. For the new president elections the military arranged the campaigns so Duvalier gained all advantages. In the 1957 elections he was portrayed as a doctor that had been working closely with USA to fight yaws and other diseases before he entered Estimé’s cabinet. He didn’t appear to have any particular political motivation or much political ambitions. He seemed like the average honest guy from the street, and claimed he was the rightful heir of Estimé. In addition the only real opponent Duvalier had in the 1957 elections was a mulatto from a prosperous family. Duvalier won clearly.

Papa Doc’s regime

Francois Duvalier was born April 14 1907 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He completed his degree in medicine in 1934 at the University of Haiti. He then became a doctor there until 1943, when he became active in a US-campaign to control the contagious tropical disease yaws. He gained a reputation as a humanitarian this way. He also became member of Le Group de Griots. A group of writers committed to Black Nationalism and voodoo mysticism. His only son Jean-Claude Duvalier was born July 3 1951.

Like many presidents before him Duvalier was attempted assassinated in his first year in office. He went to power 22nd of September 1957 and the first assassination attempt that really opened his eyes came 3rd of July 1958. It was only an invasion of 8 men, and was quickly revealed when they sent out a mulatto officer they held as hostage to get cigarettes. However this attempt made Duvalier conduct a number of changes that secured his power for many years forward. 

The domestic politics

The biggest difference between Duvalier, Estimé and Magloire is the Tonton Macoutes. Duvalier’s secret police whom he created along with chief aide Clement Barbot after the failed assassination attempt in 1958.  Tonton Macoute is Creole and was known as a man in Haitian nursery tales. He comes every Christmas and puts all the bad children in his macoute (straw bag). Duvalier employed between 10 and 15 000 Tonton Macouts. They outnumbered the Haitian army 1:2, and Duvalier made sure he always had control over the Macoutes, he would not be toppled by the military like so many presidents before him. The Macoutes were usually dressed up in blue jeans, denim hats, sunglasses, red bandanas and pistols. All were recruited from the slums of Haiti and didn’t receive any pay, they had to live on petty crimes. Their job was to beat, jail and kill all opposition against Duvalier’s regime. About 60 000 Haitians were killed by the Macoutes.

In addition to creating the Tonton Macoutes Duvalier dismissed his entire general staff and replaced old officers with young, more loyal ones. Duvalier then decided to create a new more supportive elite in the country. Through bribery, corruption and intimidation he succeeded in creating a new one with Duvalierists while the old elite was practically eliminated (the luckier members of the old elite were exiled). This was an imperative step for Duvalier as Estimé’s overthrow originated from a complaining elite. He learned from Estimé’s mistakes. Duvalier played on his own experience as well. He’d worked a lot in the field and with people, and achieved the nickname Papa Doc. He knew what people was concerned with, and promised them this in his campaign, in addition he recognized the importance of voodoo in the lives of the common Haitian, and this was to be an important card in his internal politic. It is also important to remember that Duvalier was still receiving foreign aid from USA. They’d been supporting any Haitian ruler since they left in 1939, and were especially thrilled to see a stabile one like Papa Doc.

The Voodoo politics

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Duvalier in the eyes of the western population was his manipulation of the Haitian masses through voodoo whom the average Haitian at the time firmly believed in. Duvalier studied voodoo and voodoo believes, he was even rumored to be a houngan (voodoo priest).  He changed the color of the flag from blue and red to black and red (the color of secret voodoo societies), ran a graffiti campaign saying “Duvalier is God”, enlarged his network of Tonton Macoutes by incorporating houngans and bokòs (voodoo sorcerers), and promoted a well known houngan as his new military leader. Duvalier became popular among people as he reached out to them through their religion, in addition rumors of his magic and sorcery was wide spread.  He dressed up like the chief Iwa of the Cemetery, Baron Samedi, and some people even believed he was an avatar (the descent to earth of a god or some exhalted being). His clothing was a black top hat, black coat tails, sunglasses, and cigars. When he said “They can’t get me, I am immaterial.”  He didn’t declare his irrelevance, but his divinity. In voodoo believes, you have to hold a cow leg in your hand as you summon Baron Samedi, because when he leaves again he’ll take with him whatever he’s holding, and if you hold a cow leg you get to keep your arm. People simply didn’t dare challenge a man with such dark magic. In 1961 Duvalier held a new election to extend his position to 1967, he won 1,320,487 votes to 0.

In May 1959 Duvalier suffers a heart attack, and his most trusted associate Clement Barbot steps up to take control over the country, when Duvalier recovers Barbot is put into prison. A group of Cuban guerillas and Haitian exiles lands on the south tip of the island in an attempt to remove Duvalier. The US marines and the Haitian army defeat them.

Foreign policy

Duvalier’s foreign policy was aimed to portray him as a lone man fighting the big powers. His behavior seriously disturbed American president John F. Kennedy. He noticed how Duvalier misused aid money, and how he planned to hire a marine corp mission to train the Tonton Macoutes rather than the regular army. Washington cut their aid to Haiti in 1962, something which only strengthened Duvalier’s image as a man fighting a great dominating power. The people didn’t really notice much of the stopping aid anyway, despite it having been a substantial part of the Haitian budget most of it had gone to Duvalier’s own pockets. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 political acceptance of Haiti was restored again to prevent the country from becoming Communist. USA felt the small island was particularly endangered due to its geographical location close to Cuba. 

Assassination attempts

Resistance against Papa Doc increased however. The night of July 14 1963 former TonTon Macoute chief Clement Barbot planned big things. They were going to kidnap the information minister and use him to slip two carloads of ten men into the palace. Inside Barbot expected to be joined by 20 Macoutes whose loyalty he still claimed, then he would kill Papa Doc. But a peasant informed the government that a man resembling Barbot had shot at him. Duvalier sent soldiers to the areas Barbot had been seen, and ended up driving him and his men into a field. There he set fire to the field and shot Barbot’s men systematically as they tried to escape. Barbot remained a hero among the resistance. Following Babrot’s attempt came a man named Henry Riob. He led a force that was originally suppose to be a support force for Barbot, but there was a change in plans when Barbot was executed. At the dusk of dawn July 14th Riobe and his men rode towards Petionville in an armor-plated car with a homemade flame thrower. Unfortunately the transport stalled in front of the Petionville police station, and the police offered their assistance. A nervous inexperienced soldier accidentally fired on one of the police officers, and as a consequence the rebels filled the entire barracks with bullet holes. Then they captured the Kenscoff army post and lit the alarm. When the Ton Ton Macoutes arrived to assist the fire moved them down. The rebels then fled by foot to some caves where they had previously stored food and ammunition. Duvalier’s soldiers followed Riobe’s rebels up to their hide out. The cave only had one entrance, and that proved fatal for the Ton Ton Macoutes and the militia. The battle raged on for days until Papa Doc sent Hector Riobe’s mother to the cave entrance to beg him to surrender. In order to make himself a hero and a martyr Riobe answered with a single gunshot. New attempts to remove Duvalier continue, reportedly with the backing of CIA. Duvalier's leadership becomes more extreme.

The economical situation

Due to his economic policy the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. The capital annual income sunk to 80 US$. That is the lowest number on the western hemisphere. Illiteracy remained on about 90%. Emigration was higher than ever before, hardly any intellectuals or mulattoes stayed in Haiti during Papa Doc’s reign. He was supported by USA during most of his period due to not being communist, and this gave him the necessary funding to keep his corruption level up. In 1967 several bombs blew up near the presidential palace and as a result 19 officers of the presidential guard were executed. In 1970 all the small coastal guards arranges a mutiny. Duvalier answers with a reign of terror and is able to remain in power. Duvalier survived more assassination attempts than any other, and he grew an old man, and actually managed to stay president for life. In January 1971 he amended the constitution again and made his son Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) his successor. He then dies on April 21 and power is transferred to Baby Doc.

Baby Doc’s regime

Baby Doc’s age was a problem, because according to the Haitian constitution you had to be at least twenty to become president. This was solved by the Haitian legislature that declared Jean-Claude as twenty one years old. Papa Doc’s death promised good for the Haitian elite, they’d been suppressed as well under his rule, and lost a lot of influence, now they could finally gain it back. Jean-Claude had been raised under isolated environments and never really shown any interest for politics at all. He left most of the substantive and administrative matters for his mum Simon Ovid Duvalier to handle. Baby Doc himself lived like a playboy.

Baby Doc politics

He continued the same reign more or less, but he was less harsh. He ordered the TonTon Macoutes to stop terrorizing political enemies, he just kept them for his protection. In addition he released a few political prisoners to make USA more happy, they restored aid to Haiti in 1971. The US commerce department reports misappropriation of 64% of Haiti's government revenues. Tens of millions of dollars are diverted from public funds for "extra-budgetary expenses," including deposits to Baby Doc's Swiss bank accounts.

Due to the lack of proper health and economic reforms diseases started spreading across Haiti. AIDS and African Swine Fever (AFS) became widespread. USA were afraid the disease on the Haitian pigs would spread to USA, requested that Baby Doc slaughtered all his pigs and got new livestock from USA as compensation. Baby Doc did as America requested, but this got serious consequences for the peasants. The Haitian black pig was in addition to being a symbol of the black power especially adapted to the rural environments of Haiti. They didn’t require much care or food at all, and fitted perfectly with the climate. The new American pigs however required both health care and proper food, peasants became very unpleased.

Papa Doc became popular with the black masses when he declared an antipathy for the mulattoes. Baby Doc ruined a lot of this popularity by marrying Michel Bennett Duvalier, a mulatto girl whom Papa Doc had thrown in prison. His mother Simone was sent away from Haiti after the wedding, the rumors said it was on Michel’s orders. The wedding cost around $3 million dollars which strangled the relationship with the people even more. In addition the Bennett family was not among the most popular ones in Haiti. They earned their money by selling cadavers to medicine study in other countries. In addition they dealt with narcotics. Economic situations worsened and hunger malnutrition spread to new heights.

The end of the Duvalier regime

In 1983 demonstrations started out in one city and quickly spread across the country. The demonstrators raided food warehouses and vandalized the streets. Baby Doc replied by cutting food prices by 10% and closed some independent radio stations. The Pope visited Haiti in 1983 and said in a speech that things had to change so that “the poor of every kind might be able to hope again”. Baby Doc banned this speech from all newspapers. Catholic priests on Haiti became central opposition figures. In 1985 Baby Doc gets 99% of the votes in a national election. On 28 of November in the provisional capital Gonaïves, some soldiers chase the demonstrates into a schoolyard and kill three non-demonstrating children. The riots get worse from this. USA demanded that Baby Doc stepped down, and cut all aid to Haiti in 1986, this stopped some of Baby Doc’s major incomes. Violence spread to Port-au-prince, and in the end on February 6th 1986 Jean-Claude had no choice but to accept USA’s offer to guide him out of Haiti. That night he went on a plane to France, and has not yet returned to Haiti. He leaves behind an impoverished and ruined Haiti. Well over half of Haiti's workers are unemployed. Over 80% of Haitians are illiterate. Almost a third of Haitian children die before their fifth birthdays. Life expectancy is 53 years. Per capital income is US $300.

Conclusion

Francois Duvalier had the longest regime of the ones specified in this essay. Estimé Dumarsais, Paul Magloire and Jean-Claude Duvalier were all eventually overthrown or exiled, but Francois Duvalier reigned Haiti until his death in 1971. The most important factor concerning Papa Doc’s success must be the TonTon Macoutes whom served him not only as a bodyguard, but they had massive influence on the people on the countryside as well. Another important factor in contrast to Magloire and Dumarsais was that Papa Doc made sure he had control over the army. Both Magloire and Dumarsais were put almost directly into power by the military junta, and suffered from coups organized by the same junta. Papa Doc didn’t trust the army and replaced all the senior generals with new ones that supported only him. In addition the Papa Doc closed the military academy to prevent recruiting of new officers for the army. A third important factor was Papa Doc’s manipulation of his people through voodoo. He represented a malevolent voodoo deity that people feared and respected, he also framed black power and hit hard down on the mulatto elite, this pleased the people. Dumarsais ran an economic policy that the black masses actually benefited from in contrast to Duvalier. Dumarsais was however disliked by the elite, whom Papa Doc controlled. Baby Doc was approved by the Duvalierist elite, but he was disliked by the people, the key is to control both those elements. The time was also fortunate for Francois Duvalier as he ruled during the worst parts of the cold war, and USA were forced to acknowledge and support him in fear of him turning towards communism. Both Magloire and Papa Doc attempted to become dictators for life, however Magloire was stopped by protests from intellectuals backed up by workers in Port-au-Prince. His policy of allowing workers to organize into unions backfired at him as this made them organized, and capable of striking. The terror of Papa Doc’s TonTon Macoutes prevented such organizations from acting.

Works sited

Farmer, Paul “Uses of Haiti” 1994

Dayan, John “Haiti, History and the Gods” 1995

Goldish, Meish “Crisis in Haiti” 1994

Aschough & Gyldendals Store Norske Leksikon G-Hom 1979

 

 

 

Diverse e-mails from Bob Corbette’s Haitian e-mail list  ““

 

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