Anti-Duvalier protest movement Anti-Duvalier protest movement The Anti-Duvalier protest movement was a series of demonstrations in Haiti from 23 May 1984 – 7 February 1986, that led to the overthrow of President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the Duvalier dynasty regime. Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier was elected to presidency in the 1957 general election, and he declared himself “President for life” following the 1964 constitutional referendum. In the aftermath of the 1958 coup d'état attempt, to keep the populace subservient, Papa Doc created a paramilitary force called the Tonton Macoutes (), notorious of its use of violence and intimidation. In 1970, the force was renamed
François Duvalier was one of the most repressive in the hemisphere. Within the country he murdered and exiled his opponents; estimates of those killed are as high as 60,000. Attacks on Duvalier from within the military were treated as especially serious. When bombs were detonated near the Presidential Palace in 1967, Duvalier had nineteen officers of the Presidential Guard executed in Fort Dimanche. A few days later Duvalier had a public speech during which he read the attendance sheet with names of all 19 officers killed. After each name, he said "absent". After reading the whole list, Duvalier remarked that "all were