1935, February – 1936, May 15: (Vincent Succeeds Himself: The Plebiscite of 454,357 to 1,172, the Purchase of the Banque, the Sole Authority of the State, an…

1935, February – 1936, May 15: (Vincent Succeeds Himself: The Plebiscite of 454,357 to 1,172, the Purchase of the Banque, the Sole Authority of the State, and the Hibbert Plot): The most pressing business that engaged President Vincent was how he might succeed himself and prolong a term that would end in May 1936. His solution, which he confided to his new friend Trujillo, was straightforward: dissolve the legislature early in 1935, rewrite the constitution, put it to the people by plebiscite, and then hold elections for a legislature composed exclusively of good men and true. As a trial run, Vincent set out to acquire control of the Banque — content to be rid of its Haitian operation, the City Bank agreed to sell out for $1 million, but the Senate would not pass the transaction. Vincent organized a plebiscite that in February 1935, to the agreeable tune of 454,357 to 1,172, transferred to the palace exclusive control over all economic matters — thereupon he closed the sale, not overlooking in the process to remove eleven senators including Price-Mars, Pradel, and Pierre Hudicourt, explaining blandly that their opposition put them in rebellion against the popular will. A new constitution was presented by plebiscite on June 2, 1935, ratifying a charter that allowed the president to dissolve the legislature and govern by decree, abolished the separation of powers, proclaimed the executive sole authority of the State, and through a Unique Article invested Citizen Sténio Vincent with a second term commencing May 15, 1936 — the entire referendum, reported the British minister, was even more of a farce than most popular votes in this country. In March 1935 had arisen the first plot against the presidency: Lucien Hibbert, Foreign Minister and Jacques Roumain’s brother-in-law, made overtures to Colonel Calixte, who promptly informed the president, and Hibbert was dismissed into house arrest. There were also disturbances in the North stage-managed by René Auguste, wealthiest of the senators who aspired mightily for the office his father Tancrède had once held, and in January 1936 bandits hit the Garde’s avant-poste at Limonade. On May 15, 1936, with the usual ceremony and pomp, Sténio Vincent succeeded himself — no one, reported the American minister, was killed or wounded anywhere in Haiti throughout the day.