History of the Dominican republic - Essay Example

Summary on the History of the Dominican Republic s Summary The political history of the Dominican Republic is marked by fragmentation and disorganized civil society. Besides that, the conservative elites dominated the exclusionary political regimes that suppressed democracy. Joaquin Balaguer has been involved in the Dominican politics for a very long time both as a president as well as a political broker. His major political rival was Juan Bosch. The Dominican Republic had a highly exclusionary political system. According to Pons (2007), a fierce struggle of power in the Dominican Republic ensued between Bosch and Balaguer something which was well known in the Latin America in the last forty years.
Being a close ally to Trujillo, Belaguer was appointed the President of the Republic. He wanted to run politics in his own way and allied himself with various political groupings in the Armed Forces but he failed to overthrow the government and sought refuge at Nuncio’s residence. Bosch took over power in 1962. The subsequent regime that took over after Bosch was also marred with widespread corruption and dictatorship.
Balaguer was the leader of Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC). As a president he imposed semi-dictatorship rule and he was an undisputed authoritarian ruler. Balaguer was a major intermediary between the national elite, the Dominican people, and the United States. Blaguer only enjoyed support in the local regions. On the other hand, he was never popular in the capital that had the largest concentration of population. The city was dominated by PRD as well as other leftist political factions.
Balaguer’s regime was characterized as a feeble democracy since it undermined the consolidation of democracy. He controlled the national budget, the Congress, and the security forces, in addition to skillfully manipulating the political process. Balaguer was only concerned with power in spite of the means necessary to attain it. He assassinated his opponents and instructed his security forces to fire at protesters. The reformist middle classes and militant working classes supported the establishment of liberal democracy. Therefore, Balaguer’s Bonapartism was due to the political vacuum that was created by the failure of the Dominican elites to face the rise of a contentious society.
Presentation
The political history of the Dominican Republic is marked by fragmentation and disorganized civil society. Besides that, the conservative elites dominated the exclusionary political regimes that suppressed democracy.
Until their recent transitions, the Dominican Republic had a highly exclusionary political system
Joaquin Balaguer has been active in the Dominican politics since the 1920s. Even his death on July 14, 2002 took numerous Dominican citizens by surprise. He has been the president of the Dominican Republic seven times.
Balaguer’s major political nemesis was Juan Bosch. It is their rivalry that led to political instability as well as protests in the Dominican Republic.
The army was also divided on who to support and led to various coups in the nations. Bosch was the leader of Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) while Balaguer was the leader of Partido Reformista Social Cristiano. These political divisions led to the Dominican Civil War.
Balaguer was the person the U.S as well as the Dominican oligarchy required to lead the nation out of the crisis that was created after the demise of Trujillo (Pons, 2007).
The rising international market prices for the Dominican exports were a very crucial element that contributed immensely to Balaguer’s success at restoring the dictatorial state. He won elections using public resources. The elections were blemished with massive fraud allegations that led to protests.
Industrialization in addition to populism has produced different historical actors and political opportunities.
During Balaguer’s and Bosch’s along with Trujillo’s tenures, democracy was significantly undermined. There was very little freedom in the country. Balaguer did not believe in a democratic mode of governance. The reformist middle classes and militant working classes supported the formation of a liberal democracy.
In my opinion, Balaguer was a powerful totalitarian politician who believed himself to be above the rule of law even until his death.  Unfortunately, his political opponents owed him favors, and therefore, they did not initiate any political move that could threaten him.
References
Pons, F. M. (2007). The Dominican Republic: A National History. Columbia: Markus Wiener Publishers. Read More