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, taking care 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 the Garde’s avant-poste at Limonade came under attack. 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.