What's Behind Dictator 'Baby Doc' Duvalier's Return to Haiti?
After 25 years in exile, dictator returns under mysterious circumstances.
Jan 18, 2011 — -- Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, the exiled despot who mysteriously arrived in Haiti this weekend, is expected to address the country today to explain why he has returned amid cholera, destruction and political instability.
Duvalier, a former dictator exiled to France 25 years ago amid allegations of corruption and murder, returned unannounced to Haiti Sunday. His arrival is expected to further complicate an already unstable political climate, with many observers inside and out wondering why he would choose to return now amid so much chaos in the wake of last year's earthquake.
"I'm not here for politics," Duvalier told Radio Caraibes Sunday after arriving at the airport. "I'm here for the reconstruction of Haiti."
Duvalier cancelled a news conference Monday in which he was expected to explain why he chose now to leave his exile in France and what he plans to do in Haiti.
Haiti has long been the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and the very definition of a failed state, with a revolving case of dictators running the country for decades.
But with more than 1 million people left homeless after the earthquake and another 3,500 recently dead from cholera, some Haitians may be nostalgic for the stability that Duvalier brought the country; even if that reliability came with death squads and reckless corruption.
Against that backdrop, Haiti finds itself in the midst of an already problematic presidential election. Three candidates are deadlocked since a contested first round of elections in November and current President Rene Preval is accused of fixing the election.
While Preval has not commented on Duvalier's return, his office told ABC News he had the right to be in the country "like any other Haitian citizen."
Meanwhile, officials say of Duvalier's return that "this is going to backfire" and hint at an intentional "destabilization campaign."
"People are nostalgic for Duvalier. They are nostalgic for something slightly better," said author Amy Wilentz, whose book "The Rainy Season" chronicled the aftermath of Duvalier's exile.
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