Haiti is living what some historians call ‘Duvalierism without Duvalier’.
Some regimes have even been called ‘neo-duvalierists’ for their alleged human rights violations.
“Duvalier established a totalitarian regime in Haiti,” Haitian historian Georges Michel told Efe.
According to him, for there to be a totalitarian regime, there must be a doctrinal and ideological component that was put in place by Duvalier.
“He was a great intellectual and he used that ability to do evil,” Michel referred to.
Duvalier, Fierce DICTATOR
“It is the only totalitarian regime we have had in the history of Haiti. There have been dictatorships, but not totalitarian regimes,” said Michel, for whom “the practice of theft and large-scale corruption” is a ” legacy “of Duvalier that persists to this day.
April 21 marks the 50th anniversary of the death in Puerto Príncipe of doctor and dictator Duvalier, known as Pope Doc. He ruled Haiti from 1957 to 1964 as president, and from 1964 until his death in 1971 as life president.
Illegal arrests, corruption and political persecution were the hallmarks of his years in power, which cost the lives of thousands of Haitians and sent many more into exile.
Duvalier created a personal guard aimed at sowing terror among the population, the fearsome “tonton macoutes,” tasked with protecting the ruler, persecuting, torturing, and murdering his opponents.
CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION
“Every president who arrives, drafts or amends the Constitution in order to extend his term,” Auguste D’Meza, a political commentator and university professor, told Efe, recalling that presidents who fulfill their mandate as “strange” are orders the Constitution.
In recent months there have been numerous demonstrations in Haiti against the referendum scheduled for next June promoted by Moise to endow the country with a “more appropriate” Constitution.
Throughout its history, Haiti has changed its charter 23 times. To stay in power, Duvalier amended the Constitution several times to establish that power is hereditary and for life.
Thus, in early 1971 he introduced a constitutional amendment that established the continuity of power, which allowed his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, 19, to take control of the government on the death of his father in April ‘this year.
Jean-Claude Duvalier maintained his dictatorial legacy until a popular uprising forced him to leave the country for France on February 7, 1986.
MYSTICISM AS A TOOL FROM POWER
One of the “most powerful” elements inherited from the Duvalier dictatorship is the practice of voodoo ceremonies, Professor D’Meza recalls.
For him, Haitians still believe that it is the “Luas” (spirits) who lead you to power and that mysticism must be used to stay in power.
“These practices are very present. Duvalier managed to corrupt and integrate the Masons. So did Michel Martelly and now Jovenel Moise,” he said.
For the professor “the use of mysticism is a strong thing,” for this reason Pope Doc made people believe that he was an immaterial being.
The historian Michel agrees, stating that this is not exclusive to the Duvaliers. “All Haitian heads of state use mysticism in politics,” he stated.
When he was in power, Jean-Claude Duvalier said he wanted to see a new economic class emerge in the country.
The reason was that he was fighting a certain oligarchy, D’Meza recalls. “Speeches against the oligarchs. Creating a black bourgeoisie, like an alternative bourgeoisie, that was Jean-Claude’s dream,” he said.