Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina reigned over the Dominican Republic in a dictatorship, extending over thirty years. He is known as having been the “most ruthless dictator in Latin America.” However, there is another side to the story. Trujillo was the third son of a humble sheep herder and worked as a sugar plantation guard in his adolescent years. He enlisted in the United States Marines Corp during the U.S.’s occupation in the Dominican Republic. He built himself up to National Commander and claimed presidency in 1930. He was a man known to be surrounded by “a surfeit of booze, women, wealth, power, and enemies.” Until his final years, he was admired by the Dominican people and seen as a demi-god and savior. During his first prosperous years …show more content…
Trujillo developed the roots of his reign in national policy by expanding the economy, funding public works, and encouraging the revival of culture. When Trujillo came into power in 1930, his first course of action was to bring business to his country. Before his rise to power, many Dominicans owned tiny farms where they would live under thatched huts and grow their own food. Trujillo used government funds to buy farmland from the people and build giant plantations. Accordingly, poor farmers began to cultivate in the large institutions and were pleased with better working conditions. Nevertheless, workers from around the country flooded into these plantations as hopes of good wages were fulfilled. Soon, the dictator and his friends owned 60 percent of the farms in the Dominican Republic. Trujillo’s plantations became symbols of improvement and modernity. The livestock industry made great strides by introducing scientific breeding and animal husbandry. …show more content…
Once assuming the presidency, Trujillo took some of his most loyal men and created a small military force called the Servicio de Inteligencia Militar, or SIM. Their job was to control the public and eliminate any opposition, no matter how big. One of the biggest jobs SIM was ordered to perform was the Parsley Massacre of 1937. A year after a political compromise between the two nations, thousands of Haitians were illegally immigrated into the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans were complaining about the settlements growing exponentially on the border, as it hindered trade. Trujillo responded with, “We have already begun to remedy the situation. Three hundred Haitians are now dead in [the city of] Bánica. This remedy will continue.” Trujillo had ordered his men to get rid of the Haitians occupying the borderlands. Approximately 20,000 Haitians and some dark Dominicans were killed. If you couldn 't pronounce "perejil" or parsley with a roll of the "r", it entailed you spoke French and as a Haitian you were killed. Women and children were as mercilessly killed as the men by bayonets, machetes, and rifles. Dominicans that tried to help were killed as well. The bodies were dumped in a body of water running between the two countries, as if to send a message. SIM was so effective that horrible genocide occurred during only five days. It was an event that tarnished the Haitian-Dominican
When it comes to analyzing the “banana massacre” scene in chapter 15, I found three narrative techniques the author used to describe this scene. Therefore, one can notice that this part of the book is the climax. As a result, one infers what the author is trying to say about Latin American history and politics.
The Parsley Massacre was the first instance where the world realized that Rafael Trujillo was a ruthless dictator. Rafael Trujillo's 1937 massacre of the Haitians, was his first time committing mass murder. This massacre killed more than 20,000 Haitians and even some Dominicans (“Dominican Republic and the Parsley Massacre”). Even though Trujillo committed this treacherous act, he still defended himself with, “He who does not know how to deceive does not know how to rule” (1 “Rafael Trujillo”). It is crazy that even when he went extremely public with his terror, he still tried to defend himself. The Parsley Massacre symbolized that the man who was supposed to lead and benefit the Dominican Republic was actually ruining their country one treacherous act at a
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
During Gregory’s ethnographic research in the Dominican Republic, he encounters many individuals, some tourists, others expatriates, as well as citizens native to the island. One individual by the name of Minaya, discusses changes in the sugar cane industry. In 1988 he became a worker at a sugar mill that his uncle owned, but claimed that the industry became “Capitalized” (Gregory 2007: 15). He explains this capitalization as the industry being leased out to private corporations, which incurred poor working conditions and minimal wages upon the laborers. Minaya also expresses the fact he has no formal education, a big factor...
The unification under Boyer lasted for twenty-two years. The Dominicans regained their independence from the Haitians in 1844. The political unrest in both countries between the time of their independences and the United States occupation of the nations of 1915 and 1916 was staggering. “Haiti had 33 heads of state, with an average time in power of 3.4 years. Meanwhile, between independence in 1844 and the U.S. military occupation in 1916, the Dominican Republic had 61 heads of state, with an average time in power of only 1.2 years” (Jaramillo & Sancak). The political landscape on both sides of the island were identical. There was no foreign interest on the Haitian side of the island from the period of their independence to the American intervention. Due to a chaotic political landscape and with Haiti’s policy of no foreign landowners allowed there was no hope for the previous Caribbean powerhouse to take its place on the throne of sugar
The Allies’ victory in WWII marked democracy’s triumph over dictatorship, and the consequences shook Latin America. Questioning why they should support the struggle for democracy in Europe and yet suffer the constraints of dictatorship at home, many Latin Americans rallied to democratize their own political structures. A group of prominent middle–class Brazilians opposed to the continuation of the Vargas dictatorship mused publicly, “If we fight against fascism at the side of the United Nations so that liberty and democracy may be restored to all people, certainly we are not asking too much in demanding for ourselves such rights and guarantees.” The times favored the democratic concepts professed by the middle class. A wave of freedom of speech, press, and assembly engulfed much of Latin America and bathed the middle class with satisfaction. New political parties emerged to represent broader segments of the population. Democracy, always a fragile plant anywhere, seemed ready to blossom throughout Latin America. Nowhere was this change more amply illustrated than in Guatemala, where Jorge Ubico ruled as dictator from 1931 until 1944. Ubico, a former minister of war, carried out unprecedented centralization of the state and repression of his opponents. Although he technically ended debt peonage, the 1934 vagrancy law required the carrying of identification cards and improved ...
The Dominican Republic is a country that has been experiencing economic growth for the last two decades. It has shown an average growth rate of 5.4% in its GDP between 1992 and 2014, with a growth rate of 7.0% in 2015, and ending 2016 with a growth rate of 6.0%. The rate of inflation, set by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic at 4%, is projected to be 2.6% for 2016, 1.4% below the set target (Banco Central, 2016). Notwithstanding the foregoing, unemployment rate stays high at around 14% (Trading Economics, 2016), and the government keeps increasing its external debt as it accumulates fiscal deficit (Ruiz, 2015).
Each famous dictator had a way of “changing” or manipulating history to benefit them. Hitler did it by clearing out his name and saying that he was a pure catholic, while in reality, his grandmother was Jewish. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini did it by become the leader he was by murdering all other candidates for his job. Trujillo is just like these famous dictators, just like Minerva compares him to them during the book In the Time Of the Butterflies. Just like those dictators, he had his method of making himself look good by manipulating history. Rafael Trujillo’s power influenced a lot of groups during the time of his rule . The groups that got most affected by Trujillo's regime where religion, education and gender roles.
Additionally, those who presume that the sisters were selfish feel that the Mirabals should have cared for their children, because they believe one's family and young ones are more important than one's personal goals or duties. Although, said people don’t understand that these women wanted their children to grow up in a country with an impartial government, where everyone is equal and can achieve their aspirations. Additionally, their actions throughout the revolution were vital for this positive outcome to occur. The results of the revolution alone prove that their sacrifices were essential in eliminating Trujillo’s repulsive regime. As a result of the influential actions made by the Mirabals, this generation and countless after will live in an unbiased and civil nation allowing superior opportunities for the population of the Dominican
Objective Summary: This article sets out to give a summary of the Haitian Massacre, and does a very good job meeting this goal. The massacre was conducted by the dominican army, which was run by Rafael Trujillo who ruled from 1930 to 1961. The killings targeted haitian people and people who were a portion haitian (one parent is haitian). The person would be asked to pronounce a word, such as parsley, and if they did not roll the r, then the killers would know that the person under scrutiny was in fact haitian, so they would kill he/she via machete. Thousands of haitian people were murdered, but years after, the government of the Dominican Republic has never been punished.
The first year of the occupation did see some racial harmony (due to a lack of American wives to restrain their marine husbands, who drank heavily and mingled with “dusky belles” ), but the imposed racial segregation from 1916 onward resulted in hostility between Americans and Haitians. Americans were extremely patronizing to the Haitians, castigating them for both their assumed French values and their inherent Afro-Latino culture. The social hierarchy that Haitians had created for themselves based off of French society was completely ignored by Americans, resulting in all Haitians being treated as peasants, and even worse, savages . The constant barrage of humiliation that Haitians faced resulted in anger and resistance to the occupation, eventually exploding into the tumultuous riots of 1929. In addition, the United States employed especially violent tactics during the occupation, including the use of airstrikes and the presence of excessive marine forces. The violence pushed Haitians to engage in mass demonstrations and students’ strikes against the marines and the occupation, leading to tragic events such as the Cayes massacre, during which 12—24 Haitians died . The uprisings, coupled with the overtly racist rule imposed on a nation that already struggled and fought for its freedom, led to an extremely hazardous situation in Haiti that caused waves of instability to remain for years after the occupation
Political leaders like Rafael Leonidas Trujillo and Hipolito Mejia are enforcers of such societal norms of masculinity. Many people in the Dominican Republic looked up to them during their time in office. In order for society to possess these ideas of masculinity, there has to be someone who will reenforce it everyday. Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic for 31 years, oppressing and doing as he pleased. The novel focuses on many aspects of his dictatorship and how it affected Beli. We can also say that Hipolito Mejia also reinforces these ideas of masculinity whenever he says “llego papa” (daddy is here) during his electoral campaigns (Horn Maja 8-9). These words suggest that the father of the house will bring solutions and fix everything is the house once he comes.This goes
A military dictatorship replaced the republican regime by pledging order and stability, which the republican regime was significantly lacking. António de Oliveira Salazar became the Prime Minister in 1932 and established an autocratic regime that essentially functioned by repressing and monitoring political opponents with a help of secret state policed called PIDE. Nevertheless, Salazar was a talented economist who managed to eliminate...
...er the revolution, the mentality of the people of San Domingo was foreover changed. Slavery would never be accepted again by the inhabitants. "Any regime which tolerated such practices was doomed, for the revolution had created a new race of men" (242). This new race of men were aware of their self-importance. "There was no need to be ashamed of being a black. The revolution had awakened them, had given them the possibility of achievement, confidence and pride. That psychological weakness, that feeling of inferiority with which the imperialists poison colonial peoples everywhere, these were gone" (244).
Diaz describes Trujillo by writing, “You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, friends: it would be hard to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast over the Dominican people and the shadow of fear he cast throughout the region” (224). Trujillo put so much fear into the people of the Dominican Republic that Beli did not know it would ever affect her. In a world where no one gives her such feelings, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But, the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women such as Beli.