Jean-Claude Duvalier
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Jean-Claude Duvalier (nicknamed Bébé Doc or Baby Doc) (born July 3, 1951) succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti from his father's death in 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He married Michèle Bennet.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in Port-au-Prince, and was raised in an extremely isolated environment, never expressing any interest in politics or Haitian affairs. In April 1971, he assumed the presidency of Haiti, the first black country to gain its independence, at the age of 19 upon the death of his father, François Duvalier (nicknamed "Papa Doc"), becoming the world's youngest president. He initially resented the dynastic arrangement that had made him Haiti's leader, and was content to leave substantive and administrative matters in the hands of his mother, Simone Ovid Duvalier, while he attended ceremonial functions and lived as a playboy.
[edit] Political and economic repression
By neglecting his role in government, Jean-Claude squandered a considerable amount of domestic and foreign goodwill and facilitated the dominance of Haitian affairs by a clique of hardline Duvalierist cronies who later became known as the dinosaurs. The public displayed more affection toward Jean-Claude than they had displayed for his more formidable father. Foreign officials and observers also seemed more tolerant toward "Baby Doc," in areas such as human-rights monitoring, and foreign countries were more generous to him with economic assistance. The United States restored its aid program for Haiti in 1971.
Jean-Claude limited his interest in government to various fraudulent schemes and to outright misappropriations of funds. Much of the Duvaliers' wealth, which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, came from the Régie du Tabac (Tobacco Administration). Duvalier used this "nonfiscal account," established decades earlier, as a tobacco monopoly, but he later expanded it to include the proceeds from other government enterprises and used it as a slush fund for which no balance sheets were ever kept. The Freeport Tortuga was also expropriated.
[edit] Marriage
Jean-Claude miscalculated the ramifications of his May 1980 wedding to Michèle Bennet, a mulatto divorcée who reportedly had had an infamous reputation as a Manhattan secretary. (François Duvalier had jailed her father, Ernest Bennet, for bad debts and other shady financial dealings.) Although Jean-Claude himself was light-skinned, his father's legacy of support for the black middle class and antipathy toward the established mulatto elite had enhanced the appeal of Duvalierism among the black majority of the population. By marrying a mulatto, Jean-Claude appeared to be abandoning the informal bond that his father had labored to establish. The marriage also estranged the old-line Duvalierists in the government from the younger technocrats whom Jean-Claude had appointed. The Duvalierists' spiritual leader, Jean-Claude's mother, Simone, was eventually expelled from Haiti, reportedly at the request of Michèle Bennet.
The extravagance of the couple's wedding, which cost an estimated US$3 million, further alienated the people. Popular discontent intensified in response to increased corruption among the Duvaliers and the Bennetts, as well as the repulsive nature of the Bennetts' dealings, which included selling Haitian cadavers to foreign medical schools and trafficking in narcotics. Increased political repression added to the volatility of the situation. By the mid-1980s, most Haitians felt hopeless, as economic conditions worsened and hunger and malnutrition spread.
[edit] Discontent and revolt
Widespread discontent began in March 1983, when Pope John Paul II visited Haiti. The pontiff declared that "Something must change here." He went on to call for a more equitable distribution of income, a more egalitarian social structure, more concern among the elite for the well-being of the masses, and increased popular participation in public life. This message revitalized both laymen and clergy, and it contributed to increased popular mobilization and to expanded political and social activism.
A revolt began in the provinces two years later. The city of Gonaïves was the first to have street demonstrations and raids on food-distribution warehouses. From October 1985 to January 1986, the protests spread to six other cities, including Cap Haïtien. By the end of that month, Haitians in the south had revolted. The most significant rioting there broke out in Les Cayes.
Jean-Claude responded with a 10 percent cut in staple food prices, the closing of independent radio stations, a cabinet reshuffle, and a crackdown by police and army units, but these moves failed to dampen the momentum of the popular uprising against the dynastic dictatorship. Jean-Claude's wife and advisers, intent on maintaining their profitable grip on power, urged him to put down the rebellion and to remain in office.
In January 1986, the Reagan administration began to pressure Duvalier to renounce his rule and to leave Haiti. Representatives appointed by Jamaican prime minister Edward Seaga served as intermediaries who carried out the negotiations. The United States rejected a request to provide asylum for Duvalier, but offered to assist with the dictator's departure. Duvalier had initially accepted on January 30, 1986 and the White House actually announced his departure. At the last minute, however, Jean-Claude decided to remain in Haiti. His decision provoked increased violence in the streets, reaching Port-au-Prince.
At this point, Minister of Public Works Alix Cineas and Lieutenant General Henri Namphy, along with others in the military, confronted the Duvaliers and demanded their departure. Left with no bases of support, Jean-Claude consented, leaving behind a country economically ravaged, lacking functional political institutions, and devoid of any tradition of peaceful self-rule.
[edit] Exile
The Duvaliers settled in France. For a time they lived a luxurious life - a villa in the hills of Cannes, two apartments in Paris, a chateau, along with a Ferrari. Jean-Claude, however, lost most of his wealth due to his divorce from Michèle, and now reportedly lives in very modest circumstances. [1]
A private citizen, Jacques Samyn, sued to expel Duvalier as an illegal immigrant (the Duvaliers were never officially granted asylum in France). Then, in 1998, a Haitian-born photographer, Gerard Bloncourt, formed a committee in Paris to bring Duvalier to trial. At the time, the French Ministry of the Interior said that it has lost track of Duvalier and that he had probably left the country. However, Duvalier's lawyer, said that his client was still in France and denied that the exiled leader had fallen on hard times. [2]
Following the ousting of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, Duvalier announced his intention to return to Haiti. In 2004, he announced his intentions to run for president of Haiti in the 2006 elections for the Party of National Unity; however, he did not become a candidate.
| Preceded by François Duvalier |
President of Haiti 1971-1986 |
Succeeded by Henri Namphy |
[edit] External links
[edit] Reference
Metz, Helen Chapin Dominican Republic and Haiti : Country Studies Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Washington, DC December 1989 ISBN 0-8444-1044-6
