The Anti-Duvalier protest movement was a series of demonstrations in Haiti from 23 May 1984 to 7 February 1986 that led to the overthrow of President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the Duvalier dynasty regime and the readoption of the original flag and coat of arms of the country.

The Tonton Macoute or simply the Macoute was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, Tonton Macoute, who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunny sack before carrying them off to be consumed for breakfast. The Macoute were known for their brutality, state terrorism, and assassinations. In 1970, the militia was renamed the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale. Though formally disbanded in 1986, its members continued to terrorize the country.