September 22, 1957 Is A Date Which When Mentioned Brings Memories Of Tyranny

[Canuckistanian]

It is the day when Francois Duvalier, better known to most as Papa Doc, took the reigns of the Haitian government. Few could have foreseen the devastation that this elected dictator would bring to the masses of the Haitian population. Although Papa Doc was elected to the Presidential office for a non-renewable six year term, he extended his autocratic tenure for fourteen years. During the time period of 1957-1971, between 20,000 and 50,000 Haitians are said to have been murdered by Duvalier's government. An additional one-fifth of its population lives else-where in political or economic exile. An estimated 80% of Haitians employed in professional fields fled Haiti under this oppressive regime headed by a terrorist. The ramifications of this fleeing to technology and research, education and health care can not be over-estimated. Many of the problems faced by Haiti today can be traced back to the monstrous policies of Duvalierism.

~snip
Early Life
He was raised in Port-au-Prince and trained as a doctor, serving in rural areas. There he won acclaim for helping the poor fight typhus and other diseases. He married Simone Ovide in 1939, and became director general of the national health service in 1946. In 1949, he served as minister of both health and labour. After opposing the coup of Paul Magloire, he was forced into hiding until an amnesty in 1956.

~snip
Elected in 1957
Backed by the army, Duvalier won the 1957 Haitian elections; he had campaigned as a populist leader, attacking the "noirist" elite. Duvalier revived the traditions of vodun and later used them to consolidate his power, claiming to be a hougan himself. Duvalier deliberately modeled his image on that of Baron Samedi in an effort to make himself even more imposing.

Consolidated power
He worked to consolidate his rule; after surviving an attempted coup in mid-1958, he purged the army. He then rewrote the constitution and then staged a single-candidate, sham election in 1961 : the official count was 1.32 million votes for Duvalier and none against. He established himself as president for life in 1964 and his rule assumed a more brutal and repressive character. Wary of the army, he created a militia in 1959, known as the MVSN (Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale), patterned after the Italian fascisti Blackshirts from 1962, to protect his power outside the capital. The MVSN became better known as the Tonton Macoute (or Makout). Because they received no official salary, they had to make their living through crime and extortion. To protect his person, Duvalier used the Garde Présidentielle.

In 1966, Duvalier persuaded the Vatican to allow him to nominate the Catholic hierarchy for Haiti. Ideologically, Duvalier perpetuated his notion of black nationalism by allowing Haiti to appoint its own bishops. Practically, Duvalier consolidated his power and sought to expand control over religious authorities, a potential challenge to his authority.

~snip
Reign of terror
Within the country Duvalier used both political murder and expulsion to suppress his opponents; estimates of those killed are as high as 30,000. Attacks on Duvalier from within the military were treated as especially serious; in 1967 bombs detonated near the Presidential Palace led to the execution of twenty Garde Présidentielle officers. His reign of terror kept the country in his grip until his death in early 1971, after he had set his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier to succeed him.

http://www.haitianmedia.com/index.php/11

[timeforpeace]

1. From reading that I get the sense that the people got the government they deserved in that they let

him get away with all this. Even having the military against him all those years didn't phase him. It comes back to the people. Wonder what kept them from acting. What did he do that placated them?

[Canuckistanian]

2. He was a master in mass psychology

He studied voudoun, or "voodoo" while he was a student. He was fascinated with the hold that it had on the common people.

Later on, he used that knowledge to his advantage. He pretended to be a loa, sort of a "saint" or "spirit" to endear himself to the people.

In short, he baffled them with bullshit.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Not that I agree with post 1...

but the argument that Duvalier tricked the Haitian people with voodoo doesn't exactly speak highly of the Haitian people.

[WhiteTara]

12. I've been following your posts

and you seem to be a big ass. Thanks for donating to the site.

[EFerrari]

13. Wasn't he also armed to the teeth and backed by the US government?

That never helps.

[theoldman]

3. It's hard to revolt when you only have knives against guns.

[Odin2005]

7. That's why the DLC idiots push "gun control" here

The Corporatists don't want an armed citizenry that can fight back if need be.

[Canuckistanian]

8. Not exactly

Papa Doc used the "Tontons Macoutes", rural paramilitaries, to control the people. They weren't paid, so it's unlikely that they had guns. They quickly became the all-powerful MAFIA of Haiti.

They ruled by the machete and the knife AGAINST the poor.

Paradoxically, the ones WITH the guns - the military- had almost NO political power.

[bemildred]

4. Nobody "deserves" dirty, violent, dishonest government. nt

[timeforpeace]

9. The people voted for that according to the article. Facts trump feelings.

[Canuckistanian]

10. Haiti was in a flux at the time

The former leader, Paul Magloire, had been deposed in a coup d'etat and a series of "provisonal governments" happened.

But once Duvalier got in, he quickly took control.

[bemildred]

11. Hey, Big Brother won every election too.

People do not EVER deserve dishonest, corrupt, and violent government.

[Odin2005]

5. Power corrupts.

:puke:

[Canuckistanian]

14. One could say

That Papa Doc was "pre-corrupted". He obviously made a study of dictators and their methods BEFORE gaining power. Once in, he implemented them with a cruelty that almost matched Cambodia's Khmer Rouge.

He was apparently a fan of Mussolini's tactics, modeling the Tonton Macoute on Mussolini's "Black Shirts".

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. The US prevented democratically elected Aristide from taking office.

much more recently.