Francois Duvalier takes power in Haiti

In September 1957, after a year of coups and unrest, Francois Duvalier, a country doctor known as Papa Doc, won Haiti's presidential election with army backing. He promoted noirisme, a Black nationalist ideology that spoke for the Black majority against the light-skinned elite. Within a few years he had crushed rivals, rigged a 1961 reelection, and in 1964 declared himself president for life.¹²

Haiti had a history of weak governments, foreign occupation by the US from 1915 to 1934, and a deeply divided society between a small light-skinned elite and a poor Black majority. Duvalier created a private militia, the Volunteers for National Security, known as Tontons Macoutes after a bogeyman of Haitian folklore, to terrorize opponents and counter the army. He also used vodou imagery to build a mystique, presenting himself as linked to the spirit Baron Samedi. Tens of thousands of Haitians are believed to have been killed under the Duvaliers, and many professionals fled abroad, leaving a lasting brain drain. Duvalier died in April 1971 and his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude, Baby Doc, took over. Corruption, poverty and a popular uprising forced Jean-Claude to flee on February 7, 1986. The dictatorship left a state with little trust, weak institutions and a legacy of fear that shaped later political crises.¹²³