François Papa Doc  Duvalier - The Haitian Enigma
Channel: News & Books
Date: 2023-10-24

Although patently a dictator who would not hesitate to kill his enemies in order to main tain his power over the black Republic of Haiti, Francois Duvalier would have had the world believe he was really just a simple little country doctor, so loved by his people that it became his abiding duty to remain “President for Life.”

Huge likenesses of Papa Doc, as he enjoyed being called, were plastered on walls in his capital city, Port‐au Prince, and from time to time he ordered “spontaneous” demonstrations of affection, in which thousands of his largely illiterate and desperately poor subjects were trucked into the capital to scream frenziedly “Du‐val‐yeah, Du‐val‐yeah!” and “Viva Papa Doc!”