Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 26

A Psychological and Political Analysis of a Twentieth Century “Doctator”
commanding, “never forget that I am the supreme authority of the State ... Henceforth,
I, I alone, I am your only master” (Abbott 1988, 102–103).
By 1964, Duvalier had lost interest in the facade of presidential elections,
declaring himself “President for Life.” During this time, his ruthlessness surged to
new heights. On September 6, 1964, Duvalier’s men stormed a Catholic Church
service in progress, having received information that a so-called black mass was
taking place with the goal of causing harm to Duvalier (Diederich and Burt 1969).
After locking the church doors behind them, they severely beat the parishioners
and priests. Duvalier’s paranoia caused him to perceive both the church and
communism as significant threats to his rule. As a result, he limited freedom of
movement through the imposition of curfews, he closed the university in fear of
a student uprising, and he censored the media, including the Catholic newspaper
(Marquis 2007).
Under Duvalier’s rule, Haiti sank further and further into disarray as he
misappropriated millions of dollars in foreign aid.
The GNP slumped in an average year by 2.3 percent, while the cost
of living shot up. Soil erosion and natural disasters caused a 13 percent
drop in agricultural production, and that in a nation primarily
agricultural. Haitian also had a life expectancy of forty years, the
highest infant mortality rate in the Western world, the lowest literacy,
the lowest percentage of children in school, and the lowest intake
of calories and protein. The country’s foreign debt skyrocketed from
a modest $4 million under Estime, to $52 million under Duvalier.
(Abbott 1988, 139)
Image building was key for Duvalier to promote the illusion of a prospering
nation. He forbade businesses from filing for bankruptcy and required them to
stay open. To demonstrate a thriving night life to the tourism industry, he ordered
people in government to go out in the evenings.
As Duvalier attempted to portray an important world leader, his people
were flocking in droves to neighboring states including the Dominican Republic
and the Bahamas. The sudden increase in illegal immigrants became a serious
cause for concern to the Bahamian government, which forcibly deported fleeing
Haitians by the hundreds (Abbott 1988). Duvalier found himself in the midst of
a serious brain-drain as the educated classes of doctors, lawyers, and intellectuals
left the country in hopes of a more stable life.
An International Commission of Jurists publicly denounced the quality of
life in Haiti under Duvalier’s Presidency:
The systematic violation of every single article and paragraph of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights seems to be the only policy
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