Dominican Republic

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Country in the West Indies (eastern Caribbean), occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti covering the western third; the Atlantic Ocean is to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west.

Government
The Dominican republic has a multiparty system, with a presidential political executive. It has a highly devolved system of 31 provinces (each administered by an appointed governor), and a national district, which includes the capital, Santo Domingo. The 1966 constitution provides for a president and a two-chamber congress, comprising a 32-member senate and a 178-member chamber of deputies, all elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term. Members of the chamber of deputies are elected by proportional representation, at provincial level. The president is head of both government and state and chooses the cabinet.

History
The island was inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, the first European to visit the island. He named it Hispaniola (‘Little Spain’). It was divided between France and Spain in 1697, and in 1795 the Spanish part (Santo Domingo) was ceded to France. After a revolt by slaves led by Toussaint Louverture, it was retaken by Spain in 1808. Following two months of independence in 1821, it was occupied by Haiti until a successful revolt, led by Juan Pablo Duarte's La Trinitaria secret society, resulted in the establishment of the Dominican Republic in 1844.

From 1845 to 1878 the new republic was dominated by two caudillos (military rulers), Pedro Santana, a wealthy cattle rancher, and Buenaventura Báez. Not only was democracy stifled, but the country faced bankruptcy. In an attempt to stabilize the economy and defend the Dominican Republic against attacks by Haiti, in 1861 Santana allowed Spain to annex the country. Dominican nationalists took refuge in Haiti and launched a restoration war, in 1863. After two years of fighting, the Spaniards were evicted in 1865 by Gen Gregorio Luperón. The late 19th century saw the country's rulers commit themselves to heavy borrowing from the USA. The years of dictatorship by Ulisses Heureux 1882–99 left the country in a state of political and financial collapse, with a massive foreign debt. In 1906, the USA established a customs receivership which managed to reduce the republic's debt. However, domestic politics became so chaotic that in 1916 the USA occupied the Dominican Republic, not withdrawing until 1924. This occupation led to the budget being balanced and debt reduced, and to economic growth.

Military coups
In 1930 the elected president was overthrown in a military coup, and Gen Rafael Trujillo Molina became dictator. He ruled with an iron fist, repressing political opponents, and in 1937 his army massacred around 20,000 Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border. His government was pro-USA and was supported by the country's economic elite and the Catholic Church. Trujillowas assassinated in 1961, and in 1962 Dr Juan Bosch, founder and leader of the left-wing Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), who had been in exile for over 30 years, won the country's first free elections. Within a year he was overthrown by the military, who set up their own three-person ruling junta.

Democratic constitution
Civil war broke out and an attempt to re-establish Bosch in 1965 was defeated with the intervention of US and Organization of American States' forces. In 1966 Joaquín Balaguer, a protégé of Trujillo and leader of the right-wing Christian Social Reform Party (PRSC), was elected to the presidency. A more democratic constitution was adopted, and Balaguer, despite his links with Trujillo, proved a popular leader, being re-elected in 1970 and 1974, although there was continuing repression of the opposition and a widening gap between rich and poor.

The 1978 election was won by the PRD candidate, Silvestre Antonio Guzmán Fernández, inaugurating a period of greater political freedom. The PRD was again successful in the 1982 election, and Salvador Jorge Blanco, the party's left-wing nominee, became president-designate. After allegations of fraud by his family, Guzmán committed suicide before he had finished his term, and an interim president was chosen before the start of Blanco's term. Blanco steered a restrained course in foreign policy, maintaining good relations with the USA and avoiding too close an association with Cuba.

The economy deteriorated, and in 1985 the Blanco administration was forced to adopt harsh austerity measures in return for help from the International Monetary Fund. The PRD became increasingly unpopular, and the PRSC, under Joaquín Balaguer, returned to power in 1986. Balaguer was re-elected 1990, but by a paper-thin margin, and his party lost its legislative majority. His re-election in 1994 was disputed by his opponents and questioned by the US State Department but eventually declared valid, with the condition that he serve a reduced two-year term.

In July 1996 Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), which had been founded by Juan Bosch, was elected president in what were viewed as free and fair elections. In the May 1998 assembly elections the opposition centre-left Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) won an overall majority. In May 2000, Hipólito Mejía, a social democrat from the PRD, was elected president and championed Central American and Caribbean economic integration and poverty alleviation. Mejía failed to secure re-election in May 2004, being defeated by Leonel Fernández, who won 57% of the vote.

Red recalls the struggle for independence. Blue stands for the Indian Ocean. Yellow expresses hope for a bright future. Green represents agriculture and vegetation. Effective date: 12 March 1968. >>