Why the Dominican Republic has been plagued by military coups and civil wars

Thoughout its history , the Dominican Republic , the second largest country in the Caribbean next to Cuba , have been plagued by military coups and civil wars because of the unending battle for political dominance among caudillos , military leaders from the different regions of the country . The caudillos from the south and east were more conservative than their liberal counterparts in the northern Cibao Valley . Along with the grapple for power , these economy-weakening uprisings also occured because of corruption , public angst and discontent , poverty , narcissism , militarism , and racism

This aims to explain the

persistent reign of violence in the Dominican Republic

Clash of the Caudillos

Throughout the history of the country , political parties and clans have been in competition for power . All of the regional leaders of the Dominican Republic , which is the second largest country in the Caribbean , tended to be united against foreign invaders , yet , they turn against each other once these foreign interference are ousted , all greedy for dominance over the whole country

The brawl over the country 's presidency was first fought between Pedro Santana , a wealthy cattle rancher , and Congress-elect Buenaventura Baez that alternated 30 years after the country 's independence from 22 years of Haitian occupation . Both of them depleted the national treasury for personal enrichment and mismanage the country 's funds , bringing the country into bankruptcy . However , when Santana obtained Spain 's help and reconverted the country into a Spanish colony in 1861 , rebels united against Spain and put up a provisional government . The rebels instigated nationalistic rebellions against the Spanish troops to drive them out of the country

Yet , even the provisional government was disorganized . In a two year period (1864-1865 , they have had three presidents , all vying for political power , one ousted by the other . Pepillo Salcedo , the first provisional government president , was ousted by Gaspar Polanco , who , in turn , was expelled by Antonio Pimentel . Until Queen Isabel II decided that Spain undo the annexation of the country because , as her advisors said , the occupation was a waste of troops and money

After Spain left the country in severe ruin , a new constitution was established by the guerillas , however , it had very little authority over the several dozen caudillos that ruled over the different regions of the Dominican Republic . Barahona was under Jose Maria Cabral , while the north coast was under the hand of Gregorio Luperon . In the south Buenaventura Baez 's supporters with mahogany-exporting businesses dominated the west , while the east was under cattle rancher Cesareo Guillermo , who allied with the former generals of Santana

The Dominican Republic , after Spanish troops withdrew , underwent a series of government changes 21 times and experienced military coups 50 times . These events spawned two major political factions -- the Partido Rojo and the Partido Azul . The Rojos represented the southern cattle ranching and mahogany-exporting communities , while the Azules represented the tobacco farmers and merchants from the north . Still the two parties grappled for supremacy over the political system of the Dominican Republic . The seesaw of one party ousting the other party went on for years until it settled with Luperon , who ruled the Dominican Republic during an economic boom brought about by the Ten Years ' War in Cuba . There was a surge of s globally for tobacco and sugar exports . Luperon set up a new constitution that provided for a two-year presidential term limit , direct elections , suspension of the bribe system and the construction of infrastructure

After the death of President Ulysses Heureaux , also known as Lilis , in 1899 , the country experienced four revolutions and had five different presidents in a six-year period . Two groups grew out from the caudillos who were , again , battling over the presidential position of the Dominican Republic . The Jimenistas were Cibao politicians who were responsible for the assassination of Lilis and who supported Juan Isidro Jimenes , the country 's wealthiest tobbaco planter . The Horacistas were supporters of General Horacio Vasquez . Vasquez ousted Jimenes in 1903 but General Alejandro Woss y Gil , a Jimenista overthrew Vasquez 's government . Gil was deposed by fellow Jimenistas when he seized power for himself . The Jimenista who deposed Gil , Carlos Morales , allied with the Horacistas and soon faced an uprising from Jimenistas he double-crossed

The rivalry between caudillos was also a factor that led to the unsuccessful attempts of the resistance guerillas to drive out the Americans during the United States occupation in 1961 . The caudillos either fought against each other or sided with the Americans

Following the 1961 assasination of President Rafael Leonidas Trujillo a dictator who ruled for more than three decades , the United States stopped an ensuing turmoil between a disunited opposition , who was responsible for overthrowing Trujillo 's succesor , Joaquin Balaguer

Corruption

One of the factors that led to the scramble for power by the different political and military leaders of the Dominican Republic is the fact that with political power has bountiful prviledges that comes with it -- personal enrichment . Many would fight or kill to be elected to the highest government position in the land so that they could corrupt and obtain bribes . Popular among the corrupt are government contracts that are approved immediately if the company gives bribes to those government officials who make the decisions . Yet , corruption breeds discontent among the people who sees a government that doesn 't look after its people . Instead of helping them , the government has made its people poorer

Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Baez took advantage of the tobacco farmers from northern Cibao during their reigns to enrich themselves and their supporters . Santana antagonized the farmers and bought their crops for less than their value . Baez profitted from printing 18 million uninsured pesos , which he used to buy the 1857 tobacco crop , at the expense of the hard work of Cibao farmers and merchants . When inflation affected the tobacco planters , they revolted putting back Santana as President

In 1882 , General Ulysses Heureaux was a corrupt dictator who knew nothing about running the affairs of the country and left the Dominican Republic with a national debt of over 35 million after he was assassinated . Before his assassination , with the government in bankruptcy , Lilis printed five million uninsured pesos to pay for debts he incurred from European and American banks

The dictator Rafael Trujillo , hailed as one of the richest man in the world when he was slain in May 1961 , garnered a personal fortune between 500 million and 800 million , stole 50 percent to 60 percent of arable land in the Dominican republic and owned several large American businesses in the country . He also profitted from a scheme of deducting 10 percent of all public employees ' salaries , which was a factor that also instigated much corruption among the low-ranking government officials , and from a cut in prostitution revenues . He initiated embezzlement activities , including the procurement of military supplies He also sent the country into bankruptcy in the late 1950s after mismanaging public funds through excessive spending of anniversary festivals , sugar mill and electricity plant acquisitions , and unsuccessful investments

Narcissism and Mismanagement of Public Funds

Those greedy of power are also known to be vain and to have too much love for oneself , spending money for trivial memorials . Trujillo also showed narcissism by renaming the capital city of Santo Domingo , Ciudad Trujillo , and the country 's highest mountain Pico Duarte , Pico Trujillo He also ed a directed that all public works projects place a plaque with the inscription "Era of Trujillo , Benefactor of the Fatherland " The overspending of public money for the festival of the 25th anniversary of his reign also contributed to the country 's bankruptcy in the late 1950s

The 1955 World 's Fair of Peace and Confraternity , a state pageant that used one-third of the country 's annual budget , was conducted to crown Queen Angelita , Trujillo 's sixteen-year-old daughter . A serious misuse of funds that was criticized by Trujillo 's successor , Joaquin Balaguer

Interference by Foreign Countries

Occupation of foreign countries also contributed to several military and civil upheavals that tormented the country throughout its history

The re-colonization of Spain in 1861 to help a bankrupt economy due to the corruption of President Pedro Santana , President Buenaventura Baez and their followers , was shown with much resentment that Spain was driven out from the Dominican Republic within 5 years

The Dominican Republic was bitter over the occupation of the United States in 1916 inspite of economic aid and reforms . Guerillas staged several resistance to drive out the Unites States marines , who met these insurrections with brutal counterinscould have won against the Americans since they were more knowledgeable of the terrain , were many , and had the support of the locals . Yet , the bitter competition between caudillos stumped them . Until the United States voluntarily bowed out from the country in 1924 due to criticism from United States government representatives

The public rejoiced the death of Trujillo in May 1961 , yet , were stumped by the return of hi son , Rafael "Ramfis " Trujillo , Jr , who went to revenge his father by shedding blood among his father 's enemies . The people resented Ramfis ' casual way of going about his business with the United States . Protests and rallies began to spill out onto the streets everyday . The government was very unstable at that time . The United States thought that the country was vulnerable to communist takeover So the United States warned Dominican military leaders not to revolt and established a provisional government run by Trujillo 's puppet , Joaquin Balaguer . However , President Balaguer was deposed by the opposition through a military coup . Juan Bosch took over , yet , when he showed leniency to radicals or to civil liberties , the United States used right-wing Dominican military leaders to oust President Bosch . More than a year later , the people showed a discontent on the opposition government , which showed signs of repressive dictatorship and run indirectly by the United States . The Dominicans revolted and brought President Bosch back to power

Poverty Racism

The succession of presidents who misruled and plundered the country sparked several uprisings from civilian groups , discontented over poverty and extreme disparity between the rich and the poor . People were showing public angst to President Trujillo 's money squanders while the poor had nothing on their tables . Trujillo 's son Ramfis lived a playboy 's life in Paris while a large segment of the poplulation live in urban slums and poor rural areas with no electricity and running water Education lacked government funding . Public schools lacked qualified teachers , who had low salaries and no incentives from the government The government didn 't take measures to curve poverty in the Dominican Republic . The disparity between the rich and the poor in the Dominican Republic was so extreme , especially during Trujillo 's reign , wherein the rich got richer and the poor got poorer . The climate of despair manifested in the several resistance groups in the Dominican Republic including the inspirational leaders of resistance , the las Mariposas Minerva , Maria-Teresa and Patria Mirabal led opposition movements against Trujillo 's regime but were brutally slain by Trujillo 's henchmen on November 25 , 1960 . The death of the Mirabal sisters was an important milestone in the history of the Dominican Republic since it was also instigated the end of the era of Trujillo . On May 30 , 1961 , Trujillo was assasinated by dissidents with the help of the United States

Social and racial problems also stemmed from the stringent and prejudice social stratification of the country . The white-skinned or those with light complexion , who were of European ancestry , belonged to the higher class , while those who were dark-skinned , who were African or Haitian ancestry , belonged to the lowest class . The mullatos or those who have Black and White parents belonged in the middle of the social stratification

Trujillo denied human rights to his constituents , especially dark-skinned people . Trujillo showed much hatred for the dark-skinned Haitians , sending his army to massacre thousands of them living along the b of the Dominican Republic and Haiti , under veiled threat of insallowed Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany to settle in the country

Some were baffled by his actions , claiming that Trujillo wanted to "whiten " the Dominican race , or simply to avert international criticism on the Haitian massacre

Militarism

Since the Spanish erected a colony in the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic , it had maintained an organized army to defend its people . A hastily-formed national army defended the nation in times of uprisings and revolutions . The men that made up the army came from regional militias who went back to their regional leaders cause after the instability ebbed . One of the changes the Americans made was to establish and internally train an Army that would maintain law , and public security . In the Dominican Republic , the effect was to divert power away from civilians to the military . During his era , Trujillo built a great army that contributed to the country 's political dis after the dictator 's death . Since the military was seen as assasins of the president , especially during the regime of Trujillo , much of their influence waned . Trujillo 's and Balaguer 's successors tried to curve the defense budget and eliminate the distator 's military strongmen

Conclusion

The Dominican Republic has had setbacks all through its political history because of tyrants who ran the government and the country like they own it , disregarding the needs of the very people they should be safeguarding . The greed for power and the priviledges that came along with it was , perhaps , worth the squabble with other rivals . When Trujillo died , he was considered one of the richest man in the world -- rich with the country 's money -- which he stole . The caudillos were always in competition with each other due to different ideologies , yet power was also a plus

Those who are caught in the middle are the poor countrymen who have instigated insurgencies and uprisings just to be heard , noticed , and liberated

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boylston , Frances "The Dominican Republic : Venturing Past the Tourist Gate " Inroads Journal 13 (2003 : 110-121

Derby , Lauren "In the Shadow of the State : The Politics of Denunciation and Panegyric during the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic 1940-1958 " Hispanic American Historical Review 83 , no . 2 (2003 295-344

Guitar , Lynne "History of the Dominican Republic (accessed May 5 2008 ) from http /www .hispaniola .com /dominican_republic /info /history .php

Turits , Richard Lee "A World Destroyed , A Nation Imposed : The 1937 Haitian Massacre in the Dominican Republic " Hispanic American Historical Review 82 , no . 3 (2002 : 549-635

Wiarda , HI , and Kryzanek , M .J . The Dominican Republic : a Caribbean Crucible . Boulder , Colorado : Westview Press Inc , 1982

Frances Boylston "The Dominican Republic : Venturing Past the Tourist Gate " Inroads Journal 13 (2003 : 110-121

Guitar , Lynne "History of the Dominican Republic (accessed May 5 2008 ) from http /www .hispaniola .com /dominican_republic /info /history .php

Frances Boylston "The Dominican Republic : Venturing Past the Tourist Gate " Inroads Journal 13 (2003 : 110-121

Guitar , Lynne "History of the Dominican Republic (accessed May 5 2008 ) from http /www .hispaniola .com /dominican_republic /info /history .php

Lauren Derby "In the Shadows of the State : The Politics of Denunciation and Panegyric During the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic , 1940-1958 " Hispanic American Review 83 , no . 2 (2003 295-344

Lauren Derby "In the Shadows of the State : The Politics of Denunciation and Panegyric During the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic , 1940-1958 " Hispanic American Review 83 , no . 2 (2003 295-344

Guitar , Lynne "History of the Dominican Republic (accessed May 5 2008 ) from http /www .hispaniola .com /dominican_republic /info /history .php

Frances Boylston "The Dominican Republic : Venturing Past the Tourist Gate " Inroads Journal 13 (2003 : 110-121

HI . Wiarda and M .J . Kryzanek , The Dominican Republic : a Caribbean Crucible (Boulder , Colorado :Westview Press Inc , 1982

HI . Wiarda and M .J . Kryzanek , The Dominican Republic : a Caribbean Crucible (Boulder , Colorado :Westview Press Inc , 1982

Richard Lee Turits "A World Destroyed , A Nation Imposed : The 1937 Haitian Massacre in the Dominican Republic " Hispanic American Historical Review 82 , no . 3 (2002 : 549-635

Frances Boylston "The Dominican Republic : Venturing Past the Tourist Gate " Inroads Journal 13 (2003 : 110-121

Guitar , Lynne "History of the Dominican Republic (accessed May 5 2008 ) from http /www .hispaniola .com /dominican_republic /info /history .php ...