The Dominican Republic during the Trujillo Regime

       

The Dominican Republic

        The Dominican Republic was a dictatorship between 1930 and 1961 led by a man named Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. It was a terrible time socially, but, honestly, it greatly advanced the economy of the country. The laws of the Trujillo regime went as far as people being required to hang a picture of Trujillo in a glorified section of the house, and to come and stay at parties that Trujillo is present at.
        Rebel groups were common. The members of these groups were incredibly brave, as anyone who showed dislike for the government was immediately killed. These murders were staged as accidents to keep citizens of the Dominican Republic in the dark. Not many people actually understood what Trujillo was currently doing, and saw him as the great "Benefactor".

Raphael Leonidas Trujillo

        Trujillo made laws that required you to come to his parties, and stay at them until they were over. He had a nasty habit of drugging women and then raping them. He was technically married, but had several girlfriends placed around the country. Many of these women were attacked by Trujillo's official wife. He had potions made for him that were supposed to keep him sexually potent.
        Trujillo was able to destroy rebel groups with little disruption to the law-abiding population by hiring plenty of undercover spies. When someone was discovered to be part of the Rebel group, they would either be murdered - or tortured until they talked, then murdered.
        Trujillo sponsored propaganda against the Haitians on the other side of the island, even though he himself was one-quarter Haitian. In the Parsley Massacre, between October 2 and 8 of 1937, the Dominican military was said to have killed between 17,000 and 30,000 Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border. This is called the Parsley Massacre because the army distinguished Haitians from Afro-Dominicans using their pronunciation of the word perejil, or parsley. To cover up military intervention, the army was instructed to use machetes rather than guns.

The Dominican National Palace in Santa Domingo

        After Trujillo's agents attempted to assassinate Rómulo Betancourt, the Venezuelan President and critic of the regime, the United States government decided to intervene. There is no evidence to prove it, but many people believe that the American Army was involved with his assassination on May 30, 1961.
        What complicates the matter is that it must be acknowledged that Trujillo improved the country astronomically in some ways. He greatly increased the wealth of the country, making the country free of debt by 1947, even though most of the wealth was distributed to his closest followers and himself. He did greatly advance healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Many new hospitals and clinics appeared during his regime, as well as schools. He built up a whole new web of roads and harbors. He created a housing construction program, and launched a pension plan. He ended a 50 year customs agreement 15 years early and negotiated a border with Haiti.
        Though Trujillo did an incredible amount of terrible things over the course of his regime, he also greatly advance the Dominican republic financially and structurally.