Daniel Fignolé
| Daniel Fignolé | |
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President of Haiti (Provisional) |
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In office May 25, 1957 – June 14, 1957 |
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| Preceded by | Franck Sylvain |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau |
| Member of the Executive Government Council of Haiti | |
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In office April 5, 1957 – May 25, 1957 |
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| Minister of Education and Public Health | |
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In office August 19, 1946 – October 26, 1946 |
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| President | Dumarsais Estimé |
| Preceded by | Benoit Alexandre |
| Succeeded by |
Jean Price-Mars (National Education) Georges Honorat (Public Health) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Pierre-Eustache Daniel Fignolé November 11, 1913 Pestel, Haiti |
| Died | August 27, 1986 (aged 72) Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Nationality | Haitian |
| Political party | Peasant Worker Movement (MOP) |
| Spouse(s) | Carmen Jean-François |
| Profession | Teacher |
Pierre-Eustache Daniel Fignolé (1913–1986) was a Haitian politician who became Haiti's provisional head of state for three weeks in 1957. He was one of the most influential leaders in the pre-Duvalier era, a liberal labor organizer in Port-au-Prince so popular among urban workers that he could call upon them at a moment's notice to hold mass protests, known as "woulo konpresè"—Haitian Creole for "steamroller."
Fignolé was born in the coastal town of Pestel to an impoverished family and moved to Port-au-Prince in 1927 at age 14 to seek education and work. Despite constant ill health because of chronic malnutrition, he excelled in school and was accepted to one of the city's most prestigious institutions. He made a living tutoring the children of Haiti's wealthy elite.
Fignolé co-founded in 1942 a newspaper called Chantiers with a liberal noiriste political slant. In it he lambasted Haïtï's mulatto elite for their selfishness and argued for broad social programs to uplift the majority black-skinned poor. Then president Élie Lescot responded to harsh critiques by closing the paper, firing Fignolé from his government teaching position, and placing him under police surveillance.
He continued his political activity, quickly becoming known among Port-au-Prince's poor working class as 'le professeur' or as in English, "the professor" for his impassioned orations, writing, and leadership of labor strikes. By 1946, he was known for having the power to flood the streets instantly with the urban poor in demonstrations. These flash mobs were called "woulos", or steamrollers.
The following year he agreed to lead the Mouvement Ouvrier Paysan ("Peasant Worker Movement" or MOP), which would become most organized labor party in Haitian history and the largest mass organization in the pre-Duvalier era. It included factory workers, dockworkers, hydraulic workers, gas station workers, barbers, dessert chefs, and laborers from other sectors. He wanted to run for the Haitian presidency, but at age 33 he was barred by the Haitian constitution.
Fignolé was at various points spied on, beaten, and imprisoned by authorities for his labor activism. Fignolé and François Duvalier shared in common a noirist politics of black empowerment and collaborated at times in political dissent against ruling regimes. Under the government of Dumarsais Estimé, Fignolé briefly held the post of Minister of Education. He refused to tone down his attacks on the mulatto elite, saying, "If anyone thinks they can stop what I am doing for my people, I will be forced to use my woulo to destroy them!" But unlike Duvalier, Fignolé had little political support in the countryside beyond the capital city.
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Wikipedia