347. Memorandum From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) to the Secretary of State 1
SUBJECT
- Developments in Haiti
The following summary of recent events is for your information.
President Paul Magloire of Haiti resigned the Presidency on December 6 after 6 years in office. A temporary article in the Constitution which extended his term to May 21, 1957 had aroused criticism by his opponents. To silence these critics he went through the motions of abiding by the Constitution by seeking to turn executive power over to the members of the Supreme Court, but ended up still in control as commander-in-chief of the army.
Magloire then jailed the opposition leaders and dissolved the National Assembly. This ruse to retain power met with widespread passive resistance that turned into a general strike. By December 12 the apparatus of government was completely paralyzed; Magloire gave up and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis, became provisional president. Next day, Magloire flew to Jamaica. Pierre-Louis has organized a coalition caretaker cabinet and has promised presidential elections by next April. The new government appears to meet our standards for recognition. We expect to recommend to you later this week recognition of the new government.2
In his difficult moments, Magloire accused Americans in Haiti of abetting the strike movement, labelling this “interference in Haitian affairs”.3 This unwarranted accusation, which the Department has publicly denied, was based on the fact that some Haitian [Page 950] personnel of ICA and ICA-financed projects, and of some American firms, stayed home during the strike.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 738.00/12–1756. Confidential.↩
- In a memorandum of December 20, Rubottom recommended that Secretary Dulles sign a memorandum to the President authorizing the Department of State to extend recognition to the Pierre-Louis government. A handwritten notation on this memorandum indicates that Dulles signed and forwarded Holland’s recommendation to Eisenhower on December 20. (Ibid., 738.00/12–2056) The President initialed his approval on December 21. (Ibid., 738.02/12–2156) In telegram 91 to Port-au-Prince, December 21, the Department transmitted the text of a statement of recognition of the Pierre-Louis government. (Ibid.) Chargé J. Paul Barringer transmitted this message to Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Price-Mars on December 24.↩
- In a conversation on December 10, Ambassador Zéphirin told Fromer that American intervention in Haiti “took the form of abstention from work on the part of Haitian employees of certain American firms which was condoned by the American Manufacturers.” (Memorandum of conversation, by Fromer; ibid., 738.00/12–1056)↩