Jean-Claude Duvalier

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Jean-Claude Duvalier
33rd President of Haiti
In office April 21, 1971 – February 6, 1986
Preceded by	François Duvalier
Succeeded by	Henri Namphy
Born	July 3, 1951 (1951-07-03) (aged 58) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Spouse	Michèle Bennett
Children	One daughter and one son

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.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political and economic factors 3 Marriage 4 Destabilization 5 Exile 6 Popular culture 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Early life

He was born in Port-au-Prince, and was raised in an isolated environment. He attended the most prestigious Haitian schools, College Bird and the Saint-Louis de Gonzague. Later, under the direction of several prominent professors, including Maitre Gerard Gourgue, at the University of Haiti, he studied law. During April, 1971, he assumed the presidency of Haiti at the age of 19 upon the death of his father, François Duvalier (nicknamed "Papa Doc"), becoming the world's youngest president. He initially resisted the dynastic arrangement that had made him Haiti's leader, having preferred that the presidency go to his older sister Marie-Denise Duvalier, and was content to leave substantive and administrative matters in the hands of his mother, Simone Ovide Duvalier, and a committe led by Luckner Cambronne, his father's Interior Minister, while he attended ceremonial functions, and lived as a playboy.^[1] As time passed, Duvalier became more focused and was heavily involved with the day to day challenges of running the country.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Political and economic factors

Partly in response to American pressure, Jean-Claude initially made efforts to blunt the harsher edges of his father's regime. He released political prisoners, eased press censorship and initiated judicial reforms. During the eighties, Haiti held a series of elections for various offices and was in the process of creating a government that would have been managed by a Prime Minister.^{[citation needed]}

Jean-Claude was vested with a great deal of power by the Constitution. Much of the Duvaliers' wealth, 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.^[2] In actual fact, some 61 percent of his governments funding was a result of the Regie du Tabac which, among other things, controlled the flour mill and cement factory.Current Privitization of these elements has seen them sold to present government insiders for bargain basement prices and the nation has lost this source of budgetary funding. Duvalier had a national lottery with proceeds going to fund schools. The lottery is now held by private individuals, appointed by Jean-Bertrand Aristide during his presidency.^{[citation needed]}

By neglecting his role in government, Jean-Claude squandered considerable domestic and foreign goodwill and facilitated the dominance of Haitian affairs by a clique of hardline Duvalierist cronies known as the dinosaurs. The public displayed more affection toward Jean-Claude than they had displayed for his more formidable father. They respected his 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.^[2]

[edit] Marriage

Jean-Claude miscalculated the ramifications of his May 1980 wedding to Michèle Bennett Pasquet, a mulatto divorcée with an unsavory reputation. François Duvalier had jailed her father, Ernest Bennett, for bad debts and other shady financial dealings. Her first husband, Alix Pasquet, was the son of a well-known mulatto officer who had led an attempt to overthrow Papa Doc Duvalier. Although Jean-Claude himself was light-skinned, his father's legacy of support for the black middle class and antipathy toward the 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, including Jean-Marie Chanoine, Fritz Merceron and Theo Achille. The Duvalierists' spiritual leader, Jean-Claude's mother, Simone, was eventually expelled from Haiti, reportedly at the request of Michèle Duvalier. With his wife Duvalier had two children, Francois Nicolas and Anya.^[3]

The extravagance of the couple's wedding, which cost an estimated $3 million further alienated the people. Discontent among the business community and elite 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. ^[1] Duvalier never lost the affection of Haiti's Traditional Majority, the peasants.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Destabilization

In response to an outbreak of African swine fever virus, U.S. agricultural authorities insisted upon total eradication of Haiti's pig population. Understanding the political/social implications, Duvalier resisted. At 10 A.M. one morning Duvalier received a call from the American Embassy telling him that, should he not agree to the eradication project by 2 P.M. that afternoon, the American government would "close the country." He capitulated. The Program for the Eradication of Porcine Swine Fever and Development of Pig Raising (PEPPADEP) caused widespread hardship among the peasant population, who bred pigs as an investment. Some 8.5 million pigs were slaughtered.^{[citation needed]}

This was coordinated by IICA, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture headed by Percy Aitkens-Soux. The project severely affected the native population, a sector that depended upon the sale of their animals to pay for school, medical attention and other expenses. Many elements of Haiti's fragile society were negatively impacted, especially the school system since family pigs were sold each year to pay for tuition, uniforms and books, the pigs were , in fact, Piggy Banks and kept the local areas clean by eating every type of garbage. The peasants were promised replacement pigs but this was never a reality since the replacements required hygienic conditions, expensive anti-biotics and exotic foods unavailable to the poor traditional society. The Americans provided plans for pig houses that were more elaborate that those used by the peasants. Replacement pigs went to the elite, who could afford the tariff, something like $50.00 American in a land where the annual income sat around $200.00 American. There were no free pigs, as promised.^{[citation needed]}

Had the so-called epidemic occurred in any other nation, it would have been treated locally. There would be no demand for a total eradication. There are those who believed, at the time, that the American government’s pressure, on Duvalier, to slaughter the pigs, was an ill-concealed effort to reduce his popularity with the peasant majority. Haitian historians are now generally supportive of this analysis.^{[citation needed]}

In addition, reports that AIDS was becoming a major problem in Haiti caused tourism to Haiti to decline dramatically in the early 1980s. Reagan's Caribbean Basin Initiative was responsible for the creation of something like 75,000 assembly jobs. Ambassador Ernest Preeg said that Haiti was in a position to benefit from the CBI, more so than other nations in the area, because of the infrastructure created by Jean-Claude Duvalier. Most of these jobs would be lost during the 1991-1994 embargo period, absorbed by Haiti's Organization of American States partners. Up to the mid-eighties, Haiti was an exporter of rice. It now imports something more than $750,000,000 worth of rice per annum.^{[citation needed]}

In 1984 Ernest Preeg, American ambassador to Haiti (1981-1983) wrote a monograph (Haiti and the Caribbean Basin Initiative, University of Miami, 1984) on Haiti's part in the Reagan Caribbean Basin Initiative. One paragraph stated..."It can honestly be said that the Jean-Claude Duvalier presidency is the longest period of violence-free stability in the nation's history." This reality was out of step with the media-generated image. In retrospect, Preeg's statement has proved to be true.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[2]

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.^[2]

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 grip on power, urged him to put down the rebellion and remain in office.^[2] Duvalier was not a violent person, often driving alone throughout the countryside, in his silver BMW, and refused to use force against his people.^{[citation needed]}

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. At this point a number of Duvalierists, and business leaders, met with the Duvaliers and pressed for their departure. The United States rejected a request to provide asylum for Duvalier, but offered to assist with the Duvalier’s departure. Duvalier had initially accepted on January 30, 1986 and President Reagan actually announced his departure, based on a report from the Haitian CIA Station Chief who saw Duvalier’s car head for the airport. En route, there was gunfire and Duvalier’s party returned to the palace unnoticed by the American intelligence team. Duvalier declared “we are as firm as a monkey tail.” He departed on February 7, flying to France in an American Air Force aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Exile

The Duvaliers settled in France. For a time they lived a luxurious life. Although he formally applied for Political Asylum, his request was denied by French authorities. Jean-Claude lost most of his wealth with his 1993 divorce from Michèle.^[4] While apparently living modestly in exile, Duvalier does have supporters, who founded the Francois Duvalier Foundation in 2006 to promote positive aspects of the Duvalier presidency, including the creation of most of Haiti's state institutions and improved access to education for the country's black majority. ^[5]

A private citizen, Jacques Samyn, unsuccessfully 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 could not verify whether Duvalier still remained in the country due to the recently enacted Schengen Agreement which had abolished systematic border controls between the participating countries.^[6] However, Duvalier's lawyer Sauveur Vaisse said that his client was still in France and denied that the exiled leader had fallen on hard times. ^[7]

Following the resignation 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.^[8]

On September 22–September 23, 2007, an address by Duvalier to Haitians was broadcast by radio. Although he said exile had "broken" him, he also said that what he described as the improving fortunes of the National Unity Party had "reinvigorated" him, and he urged readiness among his supporters, without saying whether he intended to return to Haiti.^[9] President René Préval rejected Duvalier's apology and, on September 28, he said that while Duvalier was constitutionally free to return to Haiti, he would face trial if he did so.^[10] The fact that all crimes are now statute barred, 20 years having passed, eliminates any action.^{[citation needed]}

Duvalier reportedly lives modestly in Paris with Veronique Roy, his longtime companion and chief public-relations representative. ^[4]

[edit] Popular culture

New Zealand artist Luke Hurley has a song entitled "Duvalier" on his album "Luke Hurley - The Best of 1981-2006." ^[11]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Haiti, 1.000 Gourdes, 1973, Jean Claude Duvalier
• Jean Claude Duvalier and Michele Bennet Wedding 25 Mai 1980

Preceded by François Duvalier

President of Haiti 1971-1986

Succeeded by Henri Namphy

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