Born in Pestel in the Southwest of Haiti on February 29, 1968, Guy Philippe spent the early years of his life in a rural environment, which greatly sensitized him to the problems of the “country-outside” and particularly to agrarian issues.
His father was the mayor of Pestel and in his family, politics and history were often discussed. Guy PHILIPPE is also passionate about literature and frequently cites CORNEILLE, ROUSSEAU, or MONTESQUIEU.
After solid studies at the PAULIN Brothers of Jérémie and St Louis de Gonzague in Port-au-Prince, Guy PHILIPPE went to Mexico, then to the United States. He seemed predestined for sports. He was several times the national table tennis champion in Haiti, and the Mexican press would later talk about him as the “goleador” (goal scorer) of Puebla.
After hesitating between medicine and the military academy, the twists of life led Guy PHILIPPE to Quito, Ecuador, in September 1992, where he entered the “Academia Superior de Policia Alberto Enriquez GALLO”. It is one of the best police schools in all of America: three years of intensive training with internships in police stations and training sessions with military academy cadets in simulated combined land-air-sea operations. This training also included 8 semesters of law courses at the University of Loja.
During his training, Guy PHILIPPE was integrated into the Armed Forces of Haiti as an overseas trainee cadet. He completed his studies brilliantly: second in his class, having at one time led the rankings. There were 200 who entered, but only 88 graduated due to the rigor of the selection process. He was also the first foreigner to be decorated in the academy’s over 60 years of existence. This path might not seem, at first glance, to be one that would lead him to concern himself with the overall problems of his country, yet it was with this concern that he returned to serve his homeland.
That same year, he learned that President ARISTIDE had demobilized the Haitian army, leaving more than 6000 soldiers unemployed without any form of compensation and in total contempt of the Haitian constitution. Guy PHILIPPE was then denied entry into the new police force, even though he was at that time one of the few Haitians truly trained to assume a position of responsibility in maintaining order. All doors were closed to him on the pretext that he had been a scholarship recipient of the Haitian Armed Forces and that he represented a “danger” to the current regime.
Contrary to what his detractors claim, Guy PHILIPPE never worked under ARISTIDE’s orders. It was not until the arrival of his successor in 1995, particularly Pierre DENIZE at the head of the National Police, that Guy PHILIPPE finally obtained a position as commissioner in Ouanaminthe, on the Dominican border.
Impressed by the excellent results of his work, the general direction of the police brought him to the Delmas station, which covers several slums, including Cité Soleil. It is the most important police station in the country due to the population it covers and the number of businesses concentrated in the commune.
In 1999, after neutralizing ARISTIDE’s first armed gangs (1), including the famous “Red Army”, he also succeeded in restoring order and discipline in Delmas in accordance with the law and human rights. He made Delmas one of the safest districts in the country.
After being elected commissioner of the year, in the presence of Human Rights observers (from MICIVICH) and police experts from the United Nations (MINUAH), he received a promotion making him the chief commissioner responsible for the Northern department.
The quality of his work and his independence from the current power impressed so much that the entire republic spoke well of him. In some circles, he was seen as a potential head of the national police. Due to his integrity, all the policemen recognized his authority and showed him a certain admiration, which is never a good omen under a dictatorship.
Meanwhile, the 2000 elections were approaching. ARISTIDE was preparing to return to power after PREVAL’s presidency, which was in fact the modern, revised, and expanded version of the policy of doubling in Haiti. From his speeches, the most irresponsible of which was the famous phrase “naje pou n soti” (figure it out yourself), which was actually an admission of political failure. A complacent laissez-faire attitude favoring banditry and the demobilization of the country’s active forces. His entire mandate only served to pave the way for ARISTIDE’s dictatorial tendencies, notably by silencing dissenting voices, such as journalist Jean DOMINIQUE, political leaders like pastor LEROY or senator Yvon TOUSSAINT, who were assassinated. The legislative elections were not held simultaneously with the presidential ones, thus leaving an institutional vacuum that weakened our democracy.
The whole group of professional officers trained in Ecuador was accused of preparing a coup d’état to prevent Aristide from returning to power. They were forced to leave the country. Guy Philippe went into exile in Santo Domingo in December 2000 with his wife and two children. There, despite the prevailing anti-Haitian climate, some Dominican soldiers treated him with respect and saluted him throughout his exile.
While grateful for the solidarity of the Dominicans, he was nonetheless marked by the plight of Haitian workers in the neighboring republic, which he courageously denounced.
ARISTIDE did not succeed in extraditing Guy PHILIPPE. But he did manage to tarnish his image abroad. Respected international newspapers repeatedly and tirelessly echoed the lies orchestrated by LAVALAS regime propagandists about Guy PHILIPPE’s alleged fortune or his supposed role as a soldier under DUVALIER… when he was still a schoolboy.
In Haiti, people either laugh at it or use it to damage his popularity, but deep down, no one believes it. Guy PHILIPPE has a great sense of humor, which he demonstrates even in the most catastrophic situations.
In the press, ARISTIDE is regularly ridiculed, often because of his disproportionate reactions that make him even more ridiculous. He attributes all subversive movements to Guy PHILIPPE, thus fueling a growing rumor throughout the country: “ARISTIDE is only afraid of Guy PHILIPPE”. This idea becomes a myth. The fraudulent 2000 elections, courageously denounced by a lone dissenting voice within the OAS, plunge the country into an endless crisis, marked by ARISTIDE’s dictatorial drift. Opponents are arrested without trial, independent radio stations are ransacked, journalists, including Brignol LINDOR, are assassinated, and even university spaces are violated by ARISTIDE’s lawless armed gangs, the chimères. Protests and strikes are violently repressed, taking a heavy toll on students.
Despite the repression, the student movement, embodied by the Creole term “Gren n nan bouda” or GNB, persists, showing unwavering determination in the face of intimidation and bullets. Meanwhile, civil society and the traditional political class waver between supporting the student movement and negotiating new compromises with ARISTIDE. However, the former “cannibal army” in Gonaïves turns against its leader, marking a decisive turning point. ARISTIDE must now face a dual opposition, including an armed one defying his presence at the bicentennial festivities in Gonaïves in January 2004.
In February 2004, the crisis persists and worsens. National roads are deserted for fear of looting, rapes, and insecurity caused by ARISTIDE’s armed bands. The population is exhausted, seeing no solution on the horizon. In this context, Guy PHILIPPE, after three years of exile, crosses the Dominican border with patriots determined to liberate Haiti. Welcomed as a liberator in Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye, Guy PHILIPPE joins various armed movements, forming the “National Liberation and Resistance Front”. Faced with betrayals, unkept promises, and the failure of the transition, Guy PHILIPPE founded in May 2004 the National Reconstruction Front (FRN).
The FRN, with a trowel and block as its logo, emphasizes endogenous development, valuing local potentials to build a functional state and independent institutions. Despite the blunders of the UN forces and international pressures, Guy PHILIPPE hands over the “keys to power” to civilians after militarily taking over two-thirds of the national territory. He becomes an emblematic figure of the GNB movement, symbolizing hope for the oppressed population. On March 1, 2004, Guy PHILIPPE makes his triumphant entry into Port-au-Prince, acclaimed as “general president”. Unlike the usual history of Haiti, the victorious army does not seize executive power, and Guy PHILIPPE humbly hands over the “keys to power” to civilians.
The interim president Boniface ALEXANDRE, in his first address to the Nation, distances himself from Guy PHILIPPE’s aid and prefers to call on foreign soldiers to ensure the country’s security. Despite attempts to minimize Guy PHILIPPE’s contribution by the traditional political class and some media, the FRN is created with the goal of rebuilding Haiti on the principles of endogenous development. Guy PHILIPPE, aware of global economic challenges, draws inspiration from Latin American policies and proposes a political path adapted to the Haitian reality. The FRN, a bearer of hope, aims to build a new country by encouraging every Haitian to give their best.
The FRN asks every Haitian, following Guy PHILIPPE’s example, to give their best to build a new country.
From his experience in Mexico and Ecuador, Guy PHILIPPE maintains a keen interest in Latin American economic policies. He is particularly attentive to recent developments, especially since he admits that there was indeed significant economic growth in Chile under PINOCHET, but he remains horrified by its human cost and by the brutal and arbitrary nature of the dictator between CARDENAS and VARGAS. He proposes a political path adapted to the Haitian reality while taking into account the demands of the era of globalization, and effective responses to the economic and social needs of the Haitian population.
The party’s program can be summarized in two words: endogenous development. It represents a modern form of economic patriotism, a valorization of local potentials that ranges from stimulating and protecting national production to defending our cultural values. An open, progressive program, and above all, one that carries hope.
Perhaps Guy PHILIPPE will yet write another page in our History, one that will allow each of us to walk again with our heads held high.
