In late May 1957, Haiti's fragile provisional order collapsed again when the army itself splintered, an episode Haitians remember as the eclatement de l'Armee. Since the fall of Paul Magloire the previous December, a rapid series of provisional governments had failed to hold, and by May the rival camps backing the leading presidential candidates were maneuvering through allied officers. Clashes within the armed forces, including fighting between rival units, brought down the collective Government Executive Council that had been trying to govern.
Out of this crisis, and through a bargain struck by the candidates Duvalier and Jumelle with military figures, the popular Port-au-Prince labor leader Daniel Fignole was designated provisional president on May 25. His tenure would last only 19 days before the army removed him in mid-June, underscoring how completely the military had come to control the succession that would soon deliver the presidency to Francois Duvalier.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Government Executive Council of Haiti (collapsed amid an army split; Fignole then installed as provisional president)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Daniel Fignole (labor leader designated provisional president on 25 May)
Leon Cantave (army chief of staff during the crisis)
Antonio Kebreau (officer who rose through the crisis)
Sources
The collective Government Executive Council governed only from 6 April to 20 May 1957 before the next transition, part of a rapid turnover of governments after Magloire's fall.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGeni, "Presidents of Haiti" project (succession list)open source ↗
On 25 May 1957, amid a chaotic election process and spiraling civil strife, Daniel Fignole was designated provisional president because of his unsurpassed popularity in Port-au-Prince.
The May 1957 splintering of the army (the eclatement de l'Armee) grew out of a plan involving the resignation of army chief Cantave and the naming of a new chief of staff; President Fignole appointed Colonel Antonio Kebreau to that post, an accession that later proved fateful for the army.
SOURCE REVIEWEDLe Nouvelliste, "25 Mai 1957: Eclatement de l'Armee d'Haiti"open source ↗
During the chaotic interval between Magloire's fall and Duvalier's election, three provisional presidents held office; one resigned and the army deposed the other two, part of a period in which the military increasingly controlled the transition.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGlobalSecurity.org, "Haiti - 1950-1957 - Paul Magloire"open source ↗
Editorial Note
The Cline dataset codes 21 May 1957 with the leader not physically harmed. Sources place the army's splintering and the collapse of the Executive Council in the days around 20-25 May, with Fignole designated on 25 May, so the dataset date marks this transition rather than a single clean coup. A succession list, Wikipedia, Le Nouvelliste, and GlobalSecurity were read directly. This is the fourth stage of the 1956-1957 Haitian succession crisis and immediately precedes the June ouster of Fignole.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Government Executive Council of Haiti (collapsed amid an army split; Fignole then installed as provisional president).
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Powell and Thyne
Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.
New York Times
“Army Rule in Haiti,” May 22, 1957
“Haiti Chief Bars Prolonged Rule,” by Paul F. Kennedy, May 23, 1957
“Haitian Factions Near Showdown...” by Paul Kennedy, May 24, 1957
“Civil War Flares in Haiti; Army Group Contests Rule,” May 26, 1957
“Turmoil in Haiti,” May 26, 1957
Chicago Daily Tribune
“Army leader Ousts Haiti’s Ruling Council,” May 22, 1957
“Haitian Capital Shelled in Civil War,” May 26, 1957
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →