The island of Hispaniola, of which the Dominican Republic forms the
eastern two-thirds and Haiti the remainder, was originally occupied
by Tainos, an Arawak-speaking people. The Tainos welcomed Columbus
in his first voyage in 1492, but subsequent colonizers were brutal,
reducing the Taino population from about 1 million to about 500 in
50 years. To ensure adequate labor for plantations, the Spanish
brought African slaves to the island beginning in 1503.
In the next century, French settlers occupied the western end of the
island, which Spain ceded to France in 1697, and which, in 1804,
became the Republic of Haiti. The Haitians conquered the whole
island in 1822 and held it until 1844, when forces led by Juan Pablo
Duarte, the hero of Dominican independence, drove them out and
established the Dominican Republic as an independent state. In 1861,
the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire; in 1865,
independence was restored. Economic difficulties, the threat of
European intervention, and ongoing internal disorders led to a U.S.
occupation in 1916 and the establishment of a military government in
the Dominican Republic. The occupation ended in 1924, with a
democratically elected Dominican Government.
In 1930, Rafael L. Trujillo, a prominent army commander, established
absolute political control. Trujillo promoted economic
development--from which he and his supporters benefited--and severe
repression of domestic human rights. Mismanagement and corruption
resulted in major economic problems. In August 1960, the
Organization of American States (OAS) imposed diplomatic sanctions
against the Dominican Republic as a result of Trujillo's complicity
in an attempt to assassinate President Romulo Betancourt of
Venezuela. These sanctions remained in force after Trujillo's death
by assassination in May 1961. In November 1961, the Trujillo family
was forced into exile.
In January 1962, a council of state that included moderate
opposition elements with legislative and executive powers was
formed. OAS sanctions were lifted January 4, and, after the
resignation of President Joaquin Balaguer on January 16, the council
under President Rafael E. Bonnelly headed the Dominican Government.
In 1963, Juan Bosch was inaugurated President. Bosch was overthrown
in a military coup in September 1963. Another military coup, on
April 24, 1965, led to violence between military elements favoring
the return to government by Bosch and those who proposed a military
junta committed to early general elections. On April 28, U.S.
military forces landed to protect U.S. citizens and to evacuate U.S.
and other foreign nationals.
Additional U.S. forces subsequently established order. In June 1966,
President Balaguer, leader of the Reformist Party (now called the
Social Christian Reformist Party--PRSC), was elected and then
re-elected to office in May 1970 and May 1974, both times after the
major opposition parties withdrew late in the campaign. In the May
1978 election, Balaguer was defeated in his bid for a fourth
successive term by Antonio Guzman of the Dominican Revolutionary
Party (PRD). Guzman's inauguration on August 16 marked the country's
first peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president
to another.
The PRD's presidential candidate, Salvador Jorge Blanco, won the
1982 elections, and the PRD gained a majority in both houses of
Congress. In an attempt to cure the ailing economy, the Jorge
administration began to implement economic adjustment and recovery
policies, including an austerity program in cooperation with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). In April 1984, rising prices of
basic foodstuffs and uncertainty about austerity measures led to
riots.
Balaguer was returned to the presidency with electoral victories in
1986 and 1990. Upon taking office in 1986, Balaguer tried to
reactivate the economy through a public works construction program.
Nonetheless, by 1988 the country had slid into a 2-year economic
depression, characterized by high inflation and currency
devaluation. Economic difficulties, coupled with problems in the
delivery of basic services--e.g., electricity, water,
transportation--generated popular discontent that resulted in
frequent protests, occasionally violent, including a paralyzing
nationwide strike in June 1989.
In 1990, Balaguer instituted a second set of economic reforms. After
concluding an IMF agreement, balancing the budget, and curtailing
inflation, the Dominican Republic experienced a period of economic
growth marked by moderate inflation, a balance in external accounts,
and a steadily increasing GDP that lasted through 2000.
The voting process in 1986 and 1990 was generally seen as fair, but
allegations of electoral board fraud tainted both victories. The
elections of 1994 were again marred by charges of fraud. Following a
compromise calling for constitutional and electoral reform,
President Balaguer assumed office for an abbreviated term and
Congress amended the Constitution to bar presidential succession.
Since 1996, the Dominican electoral process has been seen as
generally free and fair. In June 1996, Leonel Fernández Reyna of the
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) was elected to a 4-year term as
president. Fernández's political agenda was one of economic and
judicial reform. He helped enhance Dominican participation in
hemispheric affairs, such as the OAS and the follow up to the Miami
Summit. On May 16, 2000, Hipólito Mejía, the PRD candidate, was
elected president in another free and fair election, soundly
defeating PLD candidate Danilo Medina and former president Balaguer.
Mejía championed the cause of free trade and Central American and
Caribbean economic integration. The Dominican Republic signed a free
trade agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the United States and five Central
American countries in August 2004, in the last weeks of the Mejía
administration. During the Mejía administration, the government
sponsored and obtained anti-trafficking and anti-money-laundering
legislation, sent troops to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
ratified the Article 98 agreement it had signed in 2002. Mejía faced
mounting domestic problems as a deteriorating economy--caused in
large part by the government's measures to deal with massive bank
fraud--and constant power shortages plagued the latter part of his
administration.
During the Mejía administration, the Constitution was amended to
permit an incumbent president to seek a second successive term, and
Mejía ran for re-election. On May 16, 2004, Leonel Fernández was
elected president, defeating Mejía 57.11% to 33.65%. Eduardo
Estrella of the PRSC received 8.65% of the vote. Fernández took
office on August 16, 2004, promising in his inaugural speech to
promote fiscal austerity, to fight corruption and to support social
concerns. Fernández said the Dominican Republic would support
policies favoring international peace and security through
multilateral mechanisms in conformity with the United Nations and
the OAS. The Fernández administration works closely with the United
States on law enforcement and immigration and counter-terrorism
matters. In 2006 elections, Fernández' PLD won 60% of seats in the
House of Representatives and 22 of 32 Senate seats, as well as a
plurality of mayoral seats. On May 16, 2008, President Fernández was
reelected President with 53.8% of the vote. His new term runs until
2012. |
|
