A military group under Col. Paul Magliore ousted Pres. Elie Lescot, took over the government, and installed Dumarsais Estimé as president. Estimé replaced mulatto civil servants with blacks and initiated reforms for urban and rural workers.
Following a flare-up of civil war between the executive council and the forces of army Chief of Staff León Cantave, Daniel Fignolé took over as provisional president.
Amid a crisis with the U.S. over the fatal beating of an American by police, Duvalier became president, and the military junta resigned. Duvalier, known as “Papa Doc,” would rule the country until his death in 1971. He mixed mystic populist symbols, such as vodun (voodoo), with brutal repression. Duvalier expelled all mulattos from the civil service and made the army and police responsible only to him. To secure control he created the Tonton Macoutes, the most feared repressive arm of his regime. His “kleptocracy” enriched a small number of favorites while it impoverished the rest of the nation. Human rights were ignored, but at the same time Duvalier tried to maintain relations with the U.S. in order to ensure continued aid.
