Biography doc papa

An undercover government death squad , the Tonton Macoute Haitian Creole : Tonton Makout , indiscriminately tortured or killed Duvalier's opponents; the Tonton Macoute was thought to be so pervasive that Haitians became highly fearful of expressing any form of dissent, even in private. Duvalier further sought to solidify his rule by incorporating elements of Haitian mythology into a personality cult.

He acquired the nickname "Papa Doc". He was unanimously "re-elected" in a presidential election in which he was the only candidate. Afterwards, he consolidated his power step by step, culminating in when he declared himself president for life after another sham election , and as a result, he remained in power until his death in The racism and violence that occurred during the United States occupation of Haiti , which began in , inspired black nationalism among Haitians and left a powerful impression on the young Duvalier.

His practice included taking part in campaigns to prevent yaws and other diseases. In , Duvalier abandoned medicine, hiding out in Haiti's countryside from the Magloire regime. In , the Magloire government was failing, and although still in hiding, Duvalier announced his candidacy to replace him as president. During their campaigning, Haiti was ruled by five temporary administrations, none lasting longer than a few months.

Duvalier promised to rebuild and renew the country and rural Haiti solidly supported him as did the military. Duvalier promoted and installed members of the black majority in the civil service and the army. He replaced the chief-of-staff with a more reliable officer and then proceeded to create his own power base within the army by turning the Presidential Guard into an elite corps aimed at maintaining his power.

François Duvalier also known as Papa Doc, was a Haitian politician and voodooist who served as the president of Haiti from until his death in

After this, Duvalier dismissed the entire general staff and replaced it with officers who owed their positions, and their loyalty, to him. The Macoute , which by was twice as big as the army, never developed into a real military force but was more than just a secret police. In the early years of his rule, Duvalier was able to take advantage of the strategic weaknesses of his powerful opponents, mostly from the mulatto elite.