Institute for the Study of the Americas

Following the assassination of Trujillo in 1961 the Dominican Republic endured a series of shortlived governments punctuated by coups prior to the United States military intervention in 1965. This sought to lessen potential communist influence on the island by denying the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) power, and led to the 1966 election victory of Joaquín Balaguer Ricardo. Balaguer ruled until 1978, when American pressure forced him to accept the election victory of the PRD's Antonio Guzmán. Guzmán and his successor Salvador Jorge Blanco checked the role of the military in politics, and attenpted to implement reforms, but the PRD still lost the 1986 elections and Balaguer returned to power. Economically, this period saw the Dominican Republic prosper with a rise in sugar prices, but when these began to fall, US import quotas were cut and oil prices rose. The result was an economic crisis which saw IMF intervention and food riots by 1985. The materials held here reflect these political and economic developments, with the predominant perspectives being those of Christian organisations working with the peasantry and of the main union federation, the Central General de Trabajadores (CGT).