North & Central America and Caribbean

Dominican Republic
Last reviewed: 12 August 2009

Country information

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HISTORY

The island of Hispaniola, of which the Dominican Republic (DR) forms the eastern two-thirds and Haiti the remainder, was originally occupied by the Tainos, an Arawak speaking people. The Tainos welcomed Colombus in his first voyage in 1492, but subsequent colonisers were brutal, reducing the Taino population from about one million to a few thousand in 50 years. To ensure adequate labour 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, In 1804, forces led by Juan Pablo Duarte, the hero of Dominican Independence, drove out the settlers and established the Dominican Republic as an independent state. Britain was the first country formally to recognise the DR in 1844. 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 US 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 and infrastructure development, from which he and his supporters benefited. Mismanagement and corruption resulted in major economic problems, under a regime that paid scant regard to its citizens' human rights, brutally repressing them and Haitian migrants on occasion. In August 1960, The Organisation 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 on 4 January and, after the resignation of President Joaquin Balaguer on 16 January, 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 24 April 1965, led to violence between military elements favouring the return to government by Bosch and those who proposed a military junta committed to early General elections. On 28 April, US military forces landed to protect US citizens and to evacuate US and other foreign nationals. Additional US forces subsequently established order.

In June 1966, President Balaguer, leader of the Reformist Party (now called the Socialist 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 PRD. Guzman's inauguration on 16 August 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 programme in co-operation 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 programme. From 1988 the country suffered a 2-year economic depression, characterised by high inflation and currency devaluation. Economic difficulties, coupled with problems in the delivery of basic services, eg electricity, water and transportation, generated popular discontent that resulted in frequent protests, occasionally violent, including a paralysing nation-wide 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 is experiencing a period of economic growth marked by moderate inflation, a balance in external accounts, and a steadily increasing GDP. The voting process in 1986 and 1990 was generally seen as fair, but allegations of election board fraud tainted both victories. The elections of 1994 were judged by the international community to have been flawed. Following a compromise calling for constitutional and electoral reform, President Balaguer assumed office for an abbreviated term. In June 1996, Leonel Fernandez Reyna was elected to a 4-year term as President. In May 2000 Hipolito Mejía was elected to a 4-year term as President, and then in May 2004, Leonel Fernandez was again elected as President. Fernandez went on to win re-election as President in May 2008.

BBC News Country Timeline: Dominican Republic