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The Military Dictatorship of Haiti (1957-1986) was one of the most brutal and repressive regimes to ever exist. Characterized by sadism and destruction, Papa Doc's use of the Tonton Macoutes ensured that the roughly four million Haitians living under this regime were kept in a permanent state of fear.

History of Military and Paramilitary Police in Haiti
The history of Haitian military forces is one of substantial disorder and disunion. After the disbandment of all armed forces during the United States military occupation during the early 20th century, a new military hierarchy was established by the U.S. with an emphasis placed on ensuring internal stability.

Following his election in 1957, and the subsequent failed coup attempt by a small number of officers within the armed forces, Papa Doc moved to consolidate his base of power, closing Haiti’s military academy and establishing a paramilitary group called Voluntaires de la Securite National (VSN). In the following years, this group would become known as the Tonton Macoute s, a reference to the Haitian Vodou tale of a boogie man. This force was fiercely loyal to Papa Doc, as he deliberately hired poor black Haitians in an attempt to cultivate an anti-elitist image amongst Haitians.

The VSN maintained a complex relationship with the army of Haiti. The VSN was responsible for spying on and assassinating military officers deemed disloyal to Papa Doc, and quickly came to reach a size substantially greater than that of the army itself. Under Papa Doc’s rule, trusted VSN members came to hold officer roles within the army, in addition to their informal leadership positions within the VSN.

Pro-Duvalier Figures
Simone Duvalier

Simone Duvalier was born into a life of poverty in Haiti. After growing up in an orphanage, Simone gained employment as a nurse in one of Haiti's hospitals, where she first met Papa Doc. The two quickly formed a romantic relationship, and were soon wed. As Papa Doc's political career ascended, so too did Simone's vanity and ceaseless yearning for ever greater wealth. This lavish lifestyle was funded through extensive corruption, corruption that increased substantially after the death of Papa Doc.

The relationship between Papa Doc and Simone Duvalier was one characterized by disagreement. Although Simone held substantial power within the dictatorship, she and her husband frequently disagreed. Biographer of Francois Duvalier Bernard Diederich notes :

""She had a lot of power, but it wasn't an idyllic marriage ... The old dictator and his wife were often at odds over family matters.""

Clement Barbot

As the original head of the Tonton Macoutes, Clement Barbot played a key role in helping Papa Doc marginalise and remove military leaders who Duvalier feared would not be loyal to his dictatorship. Backed by the United States embassy, Barbot led a failed coup attempt against Duvalier in the early 1960s. Escaping jail following this coup, Barbot turned the tactics of terror for which the Tonton Macoutes had become infamous against the Duvaliers, culminating in an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt of the Duvalier children. Barbot was ultimately killed in a shoot out with government forces in 1963.

Madame Max Adolphe (other aliases: Max Rosalie Auguste and Rosalie Bosquet)

One of Papa Doc's most trusted lieutenants, Adolphe was appointed warden at Fort Dimanche, where under her rule human rights groups estimate that "tens of thousands of people ... were illegally detained and tortured". After his father's passing, Baby Doc removed Adolphe from Fort Dimanche, and she went on to become mayor of Port-au-Prince.

Alix Aurelien Jeanty

National Secretary General of the party

Luckner Cambronne

Nicknamed the "Vampire of the Caribbean" Cambronne became head of the Tonton Macoutes following Barbot's arrest. Cambronne held a unique position of power within

Anti-Duvalier Figures
Captain Alix "Sonson" Pasquet, Lt. Phillipe "Fito" Dominique, Lt. Henri "Riquet" Perpignan

These three led the coup attempt of July 1958.

Leslie Manigat

Leader of RDNP based in Caracas (opposition party outlawed by Papa Doc)

Serge Gilles

Leader of National Progressive Revolutionary Haitian Party based in France

Francois Latortue

Leader of the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (Mouvement Democratique pour la Liberation d'Haiti)

Method of Rule & Programs Instituted by Government
Despite the abuse of human rights and repression carried out by the Haitian government under Papa Doc's dictatorship, some historians have noted that the period between 1957 and 1986 was one of marked political stability in Haiti (when compared with events preceding and following the dictatorship). Anthony Lewis, writing in Caribbean Quarterly has argued that Papa Doc's emphasis on indigenous cultural practices allowed him to enjoy significant authority over the Haitian people, whereas his son's lack of understanding and interest in this these practices contributed to his down fall :

""Papa Doc's way of governing Haiti placed indigenous cultural practices, including the use of language and religion, at the forefront national politics. The younger Duvalier, on the other hand, saw very little importance in embracing folkways and was even less concerned with their use as political tools.""

Theft and extortion were carried out extensively by the VSN as a means of funding their activities. The government provided no official funding for the TonTon Macoutes (beyond the occasional land grant), and was acutely aware of the VSN's methods. Many of the top government figures during this period personally profited through the VSN's corruption.

Living Conditions and Impact of Dictatorship for Haitians
Living conditions for the average Haitian living under the military dictatorship of the Duvalier family were abysmal. Nathalie Baptiste notes that during the 1980s over half the population of Haiti survived on less than $1.25 a day. Robert I. Rotberg writes of Haitian poverty :

""Standard numerical equivalents cannot begin to describe the extent and impact of Haitian poverty. It is equally apparent in the extensive slums of the capital--they rival those of Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Capte Town and Johannesburg in squalor and misery""

The staunchly anti-communist Duvalier dictatorship encouraged foreign factories to be set up in Haiti through corporate friendly tax incentives, that offered low wages and little else for the working people of Haiti. The lack of economic prospects for Haitians living under this regime is partly reflected in the mass emigration that took place during this time period.

Between 1960 and 1990 there was a significant increase in the number of Haitians fleeing the dictatorship to seek out safer and more prosperous lives in the United States. The number of Haitian immigrants living in the United States grew from a mere 5,000 in 1960 to over 680,000 in 2019. For a country that had a population of roughly 5.7 million in 1980, this is a significant flow of people leaving Haiti. Rotberg writes that :

""At least half a million Haitians left their country for the Dominican Republic, the United States and Canada between 1964 and 1969.""

The consequences of this mass emigration can still be felt in Haiti to this day. As funds were a necessary requirement in making the journey from Haiti to the United States, Haiti suffered a significant brain drain that has yet to be remedied. As Tatiana Wah notes "Some estimates show that as much as 70 percent of Haiti’s skilled human resources are in the diaspora." Whilst roughly $2 billion is sent home to Haiti in remittance payments each year, very little of these funds is used for productive investment in infrastructure including roads and sanitation systems, making it difficult to achieve long term improvement in Haitian's quality of life.