Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
result of Duvalier's endorsement of voodoo and his support for
the black urban middle class at the expense of the mulatto
elite. Despite substantial multilateral and bilateral economic
support, the economy stagnated as a result of neglect and the
diversion of as much as 10 million dollars a year from the treasury.
Among the few positive things that can be said about his
presidency is that Francois Duvalier provided some new opportunities
for the black urban middle class. Before his presidency,
the army command had been a bastion of the mulatto elite.
Duvalier turned it into a medium for black upward mobility.
Another progressive aspect of his presidency was the Haitianizing
of the Catholic hierarchy, which acted as a stimulus to Haitianize
the rest of the church.
Jean-Claude Duvalier, 1971-86
Only nineteen years old in 1971, when his father died peacefully
in his sleep, Jean-Claude Duvalier (referred to as "Baby
Doc") protested that he was too young and inexperienced to be
president. Although it is unclear whether he was in fact mentally
prepared to be president, there is near unanimity that he
was ill-suited for it. For the first few years, Jean-Claude's politically
ambitious mother, Simone Ovide, ran the government,
while he lived the life of a playboy.
For many Haitians and foreign observers, Jean-Claude's
youth, approachability, and his political promises were encouraging.
The United States was heartened when the new president
announced that "his father had accomplished the
political revolution, and his administration would realize the
economic revolution."
There were initial signs of political openings that included
more freedom of the press and respect for human rights. By
neglecting his role in government, however, Jean-Claude
squandered a considerable amount of domestic and foreign
goodwill and facilitated the dominance of Haitian affairs by a
clique of hard-line Duvalierist cronies, who later became
known as dinosaurs.
On May 27, 1980, Jean-Claude Duvalier married Michele
Bennett. The wedding made the Guinness World Book of Records
for lavishness and highlighted for most Haitians the disparities
between their lives and that of the Duvaliers. Everything about
the wedding was contentious. Although the bride was a
divorcee, the couple was married in the Port-au-Prince cathedral
by an archbishop. In addition, she was a light-skinned
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