Asopao, you have to understand that Joaquin Balaguer was a politician, a caudillo. Thus, you have to define to who he was addressing his theories and speeches when he made certain comments or published certain books.
For example, let's take "La Isla Alreves" as an example.
Did you know what was the real purpose of that book? Most people think that it was a way for Balaguer to bash and discredit Haitians. That certainly appears to be the case if you read that book without knowing anything else about Balaguer or knowing very little of his other books which he published.
Let me explain, in the 1940s when Balaguer was Trujillo's protege, he published a book titled "La Realidad Dominicana". The book is out of print, but it is available in some bookstores in Santo Domingo. Do you know what was the purpose of that book?
He was trying to justify Trujillo's massacre of Haitians by portraying the Haitians as everything that they are not and don't wish to be.
How does "La Realidad Dominicana" relates to "La Isla Alreves"?
It's the same book! In fact, take a copy of "La Realidad Dominicana" and set it side by side with a copy of "La Isla Alreves" and you will notice what I noticed; the two books are word for word the same.
La Isla Alreves was nothing more than a revised version of "La Realidad Dominicana" with a new title and a new chapter at the end.
That final chapter is what gives "La Isla Alreves" it's political meaning which many people have completely missed because they focus on the rest of the book which is a word for word re-print of "La Realidad Dominicana" attempting to justify the Haitian massacre ordered by Trujillo. In fact, some people think Balaguer was ordered to Trujillo to publish "La Realidad Dominicana" as an attempt of justifying such.
What does the final chapter of the revised "La Realidad Dominicana" edition published in the 1980s as "La Isla Alreves" says? In a nutshell, Balaguer explains that Haiti (and by extension Haitians) are uncivilized, ungovernable, incapable of effectively governing themselves. Due to the precarious situation Haiti finds itself politically and economically (in the 1980s although today it's not much differet), Haiti will inevitably put various types of pressures on Dominican society.
In that entire last chapter of "La Isla Alreves", Balaguer pin points Haiti's failure and position himself as the only man capable of helping Haiti move forward.
Like I said at the top of this reply, Balaguer was a master politician, a caudillo taught by Trujillo himself and by extension the US military who trained "Trujillo to think like a marine" as an American southern infantry sargeant once stated. He was positioning himself to be the "savior" of both, the DR and Haiti by putting the situation of Haiti as a proof of Haitian inability to govern themselves and by making himself responsible for the "better" outcome politically and economically of the Dominican Republic.
In his mind, the "superiority" of Dominicans over Haitians is manifested in the political and economic outcome of the two nations and he was the "person fit" to govern the island.
Whether anyone believes everything or some of the things Balaguer proclaimed is another matter, but what is clear is that "La Realidad Dominicana" was a xenophobic publication meant to justify a massacre and "La Isla Alreves" was a revised edition meant to position Balaguer as the only man capable of setting the island of Hispaniola on the path towards progress and modernity.
That was the entire message of "La Isla Alreves".
Most people who are focused on criticizing "La Isla Alreves" are criticizing the book for the wrong reasons, in my opinion. They fail to see the real message in La Isla Alreves and, because many don't know of "La Realidad Dominicana" and much less see the word for word connection between the two books, they fail to see why 90% of "La Isla Alreves" is so anti-Haitian.
Understanding is not forgiving; understanding is accepting reality.
The parts of "La Isla Alreves" that most people criticize are the parts which on their own were geared to a different time period and a different group of people. In fact, "La Realidad Dominicana" had to be accepted by Trujillo in order to be published. The final added chapter which changes the meaning of revised book places Balaguer as the center of progress and modernity on Hispaniola and that is what most criticizers completely missed or ignored.
-NALs
gre: 