Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moving Away From the Past
The Dominican people signaled their desire for change in electing Leonel Fernández, a
42-year-old lawyer who grew up in New York City, as president in 1996; he edged out
three-time candidate José Francisco Peña Gómez in a runoff. Still, the speed of his initial
moves shocked the nation. Fernández forcibly retired two dozen generals, encouraged his
defense minister to submit to questioning by the civilian attorney general and fired the de-
fense minister for insubordination - all in a single week. In the four years of his first pres-
idential term, he presided over strong economic growth and privatization, and lowered in-
flation and high rates of unemployment and illiteracy - accusations of endemic corruption,
however, remained pervasive.
The Dictator Next Door: The Good Neighbor Policy and the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic, 1930-1945,
by
Eric Paul Roorda, details the compromises the US government made with Trujillo's regime and
its complicity in its survival.
Hipólito Mejía, a former tobacco farmer, succeeded Fernández in 2000 and immediately
cut spending and increased fuel prices - not exactly the platform he ran on. The faltering
US economy and September 11 attacks ate into Dominican exports, as well as cash remit-
tances and foreign tourism. Corruption scandals involving the civil service, unchecked
spending, electricity shortages and several bank failures, which cost the government in the
form of huge bailouts for depositors, all spelled doom for Mejía's reelection chances.
The Dominican Republic: A National History
, by Frank Moya Pons, is the most comprehensive book on
the country's colorful history.
