Vivian Barbot, Heir to a Tragic History, Architect of Political Ethics

By Nancy Roc*

Daughter of a key figure in Duvalierism who became the regime’s sworn enemy, forced into exile after her father’s assassination, Vivian Barbot transformed a family history marked by political violence into an exceptional path devoted to social justice, feminism, and democracy. From Haitian trauma to the highest parliamentary offices in Canada, her journey illustrates how one can break with the legacy of authoritarian power without denying the complexity of History. Exclusive interview granted to Nancy Roc as part of Black History Month.

A Political Childhood, Early Lucidity

“Politics was an everyday conversation in our home,” Vivian Barbot recalls. Born in Saint-Marc in 1941, she grew up in a family where justice, poverty, education, and inequality were openly discussed. Very early on, one idea became clear to her : “All human beings have the same value.”

Visits to the family’s properties near Saint-Marc exposed her to stark social inequalities. “My father would point out that it wasn’t fair that those who worked on the plantations did not have a better life,” she says, adding that this awareness of privilege—and the responsibilities that come with it - never left her.

Clément Barbot : From the Heart of Power to Armed Dissidence

Vivian Barbot is the daughter of Clément Barbot, a former ally of François Duvalier and co-founder of the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (VSN), better known as the Tontons Macoutes, the feared paramilitary militia that served as the armed wing of the Duvalier regime and helped entrench authoritarian rule through terror.

A loyal Duvalierist in the early years and a trusted regime figure, Barbot was nonetheless suspected as early as 1960 of harboring personal ambitions. Arrested on Duvalier’s orders, he was imprisoned for nearly eighteen months. Upon his release in 1962, he broke definitively with the regime he had helped establish and entered open rebellion, leading an armed struggle against it.

Declared public enemy number one, Clément Barbot was relentlessly hunted. On July 14, 1963, located in the Port-au-Prince region, he was shot and killed alongside his brother in a confrontation with security forces after refusing to surrender.

Exile as a Foundational Rupture

This heavy legacy forced the Barbot family into hiding and then into exile. “We had to take refuge in the Argentine embassy for nearly two years,” she recalls. It was a suspended moment, one conducive to reflection but also to a harsh awakening : “I understood how deeply poverty undermined the people and how politics could be used to subjugate and oppress those considered enemies.”

After her father’s assassination, exile became permanent. Buenos Aires first, then Montreal in 1967. “I had never dreamed of leaving my country forever,” she confides, even today.

Instinctive Feminism, Constructed Commitment

“I was born a feminist,” Vivian Barbot states plainly. From childhood, she felt the need to exist fully, “not to take anyone else’s place, but to show that I exist in this world.”

Her feminism was shaped through collective action, union activism, and eventually politics. She also fought to protect and preserve the French language in Quebec, threatened within the North American anglophone context.

Teacher, union leader, president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, federal Member of Parliament, interim leader of the Bloc Québécois - at every stage, she upheld one uncompromising principle : “Gender equality is non-negotiable.”

Yet her approach rejects simplifications. “I have always embraced a compassionate feminism,” she says, aware that domination, “in addition to attacking women’s rights, also crushes some men,” and that social transformation requires alliances.

A Painful Haitian Memory, Never Erased

“For a long time, I had to live as if Haiti did not exist,” she admits. Too much loss, too much violence, too much survivor’s guilt. Even today, Haiti’s crisis is experienced as “a constant horror.”

Her commitment now takes the form of reflection and education. “I believe that quality education for all is one of the essential paths to change in Haiti,” she explains, while remaining clear-eyed : the diaspora cannot play a central role without minimum conditions of security.

One Conviction, Intact

At this stage of her life, Vivian Barbot, now 84, presents herself neither as a heroine nor as a victim of History - simply as a woman who has remained faithful to her values.

Her ultimate conviction is expressed in one simple, disarming sentence : “Life is worth living.”

*Journalist