What makes the DR different from other Latina American countries?

Until someone can bring new ideas to change the whole system or until the poor one day wakes up and realizes that they can change things, everything will remain the same. When is this going to happen I don't know.


Reading the commentaries of various newspapers online, I have a feeling that if the Haitian problem is not dealt with, we will have serious problems...someone even mentioned that there could be a civil war because of this. But I don't live in the DR so I am not aware of what the situation is.

Chip00 said:

For example, the DR has been relatively free of civil way and genocide(notwithstanding Trujullos ordered massacre of the Haitians) that has scarred many other countries in this region - for example what has happened/is happening in Colombia and Honduras etc.

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Free of civil war? I'm curious, what do you qualify 1965 as?

Keith R said:

Free of civil war? I'm curious, what do you qualify 1965 as?

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My grade school history textbook says the following, and I quote:

"What happened in 1965 was a violent confrontation between two competing military gangs. One of the military gangs committed the atrocious stupidity of distributing military weapons amongst the civilian population, convincing them, through shrill radio propaganda, that they were fighting against dictatorship and opression and wanted to bring back popularly elected president Juan Bosch back to office. Except for a few skirmishes around the city of Santo Domingo, particularly around the only bridge across the Ozama river, most of the country was oblivious to the confrontation. Then one of the military gangs, foreseeing defeat, called the U.S. Embassy and accused the other military gang of trying to install a Castro-communist regime in the DR. Two days later, 40.000 US Marines had landed, bringing order and an end to the confrontation."

Keith R said:

Free of civil war? I'm curious, what do you qualify 1965 as?

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a tiny uprising, when you compare it to the civil wars in the rest of Latin America, like in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia. The DR is paradise when you compare it to the rest of Latin America with so many different problems.

A Dominican who also knew Central America quite well told me that a major difference between Dominicans and Central Americans was that Central Americans bore grudges for longer, while Dominicans were more prone to forgive and move on. She meant this in the context of historical alliances - not sure how well-founded it is. All the pragmatic (some might say treacherous) alliances between old enemies are not exclusive to the DR. Take Daniel Ortega, for example.

From having him steal his house, to serving as his vice president, lol.

Chip00 said:

I was just pondering the DR and all of its pluses and minuses and what was wondering what makes the DR different from other Latina American countries.

?

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One major trait is the authentic "love affair" Dominicans have with the USA and anything American, that spans all social and economic levels.

I have been to many countries in L.A. where it is the exact opposite.

Narcosis,

I find your statement very interesting and was not aware of that. This "love affair" with the US I can relate to due to close proximity and the amount of trade between the two countries.

The question I would have for you is with this "love affair" do you feel that the DR is better off? With the supposed lack of the same feelings by other L.A. countries does this serve them in a detrimental way?

Rick

No doubt, The Dominican economic and political powers that be, are all in agreement on this issue, so much so that even historically left of center figures will go out of there way to fall in line with US interests.

No doubt, The Dominican economic and political powers that be, are all in agreement on this issue, so much so that even historically left of center figures will go out of there way to fall in line with US interests.

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Balaguer, the farthest-to-the-right elected president we've had (International readers should remember than right and left here are not necessarily equivalent to that of US and Europe, though closer to Europe) seemed to be the only one to routinely stand up to US interests. Sort of like Nixon and China...


And about the OP, what makes the DR different is that we are seem to have a more homogeneous populations, racially and culturally. And VERY short memories.

Narcosis, I accidentally deleted one of your paragraphs after I hit the wrong button. My apologies. I hope you post it again.

Narcosis said:

No doubt, The Dominican economic and political powers that be, are all in agreement on this issue, so much so that even historically left of center figures will go out of there way to fall in line with US interests.

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DR-CAFTA would be a classical example of that ..AND sports, of course.

Pib said:

Narcosis, I accidentally deleted one of your paragraphs after I hit the wrong button. My apologies. I hope you post it again.

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NP...I just mentioned that in ten years the Dominican Republic will be one of the most popular places for Americans to own a second home or to retire.

There is a law in congress that is geared towards tax incentives as well as other incentives for retirees to invest in real estate on the island.

Just a sign of the increased interest/trust US has in the D.R. on this front, certain US banks have alotted huge amounts of capital for real estate loans for investments in DR real estate projects with interest rates around 8%.

The above is the general attitude towards DR-cafta among many other US/DR relations fronts that make the DR a major partner with US interests which contrasts with the new trend in LA.

The intense hatred of people from Haiti

If you wish to partake in this conversation please expand on that which you are trying to say. I can't change the title of your post so my first question is "The intense hatred of people from Haiti" - What? Are you trying to insinuate that people from Haiti that live in the DR have an intense hatred against themselves, their government, other Haitians, their position in life, against the US, against their god, against their left foot?????????????

Moderator

While a large segment of the population is "have not" and a tiny segment is "have a lot"...the eternal hope of getting more is there for everyone.
By not having a real "underclass" that has been oppressed over the years, centuries if you will, the eastern part of the island escaped the tensions that gave rise to the bloody revolutions of Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba and the civil wars of El Salvador, Nicaragua. The Mexican and Bolivian revolutions were so bloody that nobody, except doctors, were immune to death at the hands of one band or another. The Cuban Revolution was four or five decades in coming and fed upon the millions of cane workers that lived a feast or famine life according to the time of the year. The social injustices that existed in these three or four countries have been absent in the DR. There were some aspects of the peonage system but tempered with paternalism that took away the harsher or cruder aspects "peonage". Never were farm workers legally tied to the land they worked, for example.
Another aspect is the sparse population well into the 20th century. There was little pressure on the arable land, and this relieved social tensions. Today, the campos are emptying out as people go to the cities. They leave the farming to Haitians.
Thus, the ability to get ahead has removed much of the pressures from the political and social scenes, lessening the need for violence--unless totally politically motivated such as 1984 (Easter Week)--and thus the DR is so different from the rest of Latin America.

HB,, pontificating...

Hillbilly said:

... HB,, pontificating...

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Not at all! HB, you've brought up a very good point, including one of the most important factors, demographics. All recent social (and armed) conflicts in LA countries can be correlated almost perfectly to population density in those countries...