Watch this short produced by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA).
Very much in the spirit of American President Franklin Roosevelt’s (1933-1945) Good Neighbor Policy (1933) which promoted more “cordial” relations between the republics of the Americas, this OIAA’s piece presents a surprisingly interesting (if somewhat outdated) picture of Haiti. It serves as a relevant cultural artefact of a certain brand of early Cold War Pan-Americanism and provides a rare glimpse into the Haiti of many decades ago.
Although the exact date of the shooting is not mentioned (and the OIAA went on to change its name to Office of Inter-American Affairs as early as March 1945), the picture quality and landscape does seem to suggest that it was produced in the first half of the 1950s under the rule of Paul Eugène Magloire (1950-1956).
Magloire occupies an interesting place in Haitian memory. While many of his Noirist critics deplored how, despite being a black general, his presidency translated into a (supposed) return of the "mulâtres" into high-profile politics (as Magloire was much less inclined than his predecessor, Dumarsais Estimé [1946-1950], to seek compromise with the different political interests of the day), the Magloire era, while not being without its flaws, was a time of booming tourism, lavish festivities (in part, to celebrate Haiti’s 150th anniversary in 1954) and closer ties with the United States. Indeed, much like his successor, François Duvalier (1957-1971), if only more blatantly, Magloire openly courted a “rapprochement” with the US and made combatting communism one of the central goals of his administration.
