The Rise Of Haiti

Between 1911 and 1915, Haiti was politically unstable due to a series of political assassinations and forced exiles resulted in six presidents holding office during this period. Revolutionary armies carried out the coup d’état regularly. Some experts suggested that these armies were enlisted by rival political factions under the promises of money, which would be paid after a successful revolution, and the opportunity to plunder. With this kind of instability in the region the United States invaded and occupied Haiti from July 28, 1915 to August 1. 1934. Once the occupation ended the Haitian economy enjoyed some growth in the 1940s and the early 1950s, partly because of improvements in the country's infrastructure, but mostly because of improved
prices for its exports. For a short period of time Haiti enjoyed a stable political structure that helped paved the way for a stable economy and possibly a stable future. The United States occupation of Haiti left a powerful impression on Duvalier. It was during the invasion he realized what it would take to have order and balance in the country. He became aware of the lack of political power the poor black majority had compared and the small mulatto elite. He would use this resentment against the mulatto population to thrust himself into power. When he was elected as president in 1957 Duvalier modernized Haitian economy into a system dominated by personal patronage, institutionalized corruption, and internal security concerns according to Haiti, State against Nation: The Origins and Legacy of Duvalierism. His main concern as President was based on retaining power at all costs so he decided to heavily tax citizens to finance the military, the paramilitary security forces known as the Tonton Macouts, and his families vast expenses. Now despite the mishandling in the allocation of money, government revenues traditionally equaled, or surpassed, budget outlays, technically yielding balanced budgets according to Political