Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
resulting social discontent has brought periodic outbreaks of
turmoil and violence. In addition, grassroots groups have
shown an increasing ability to organize major protest actions
that can lead to conflict and threaten the internal order.
In July 1997, a general strike was called in the northeast to
demand infrastructure improvements that had been promised
in the presidential campaign of the previous year. Power cuts
resulting from delays in building new generating units were a
particular source of resentment. The rising prices of staples
like rice and chicken were also at issue. Hundreds of soldiers,
as well as air force airborne units, were dispatched to reinforce
the police. Some injuries occurred as strikers set off explosives
and exchanged fire with police. Although the strike ended
after its leaders had met with a team of high government officials,
the president charged that the strikes were being led by
"remnants of the left."
Protests continued in the fall of 1997, with numerous violent
street demonstrations taking place in the suburbs of Santo
Domingo. These demonstrations culminated in a national general
strike in November 1997 to protest failure of the national
power grid, which had led to power outages and rising prices.
The strike was led by the Coordination of Popular, Peasant, and
Union Organizations. The demonstrators accused the government
of aiming for high growth rates at the expense of public
services and controls on the prices of fuel and food staples.
The series of local and national disturbances prompted the
government to deploy thousands of police, reinforced by soldiers,
to the poor neighborhoods of the main cities, which were
described as under a virtual state of siege. Although ten civilians
and police officers had been killed during earlier clashes,
the two-day general strike was peaceful. The security forces
demonstrated restraint although they detained many persons
on suspicion of vandalism and violence. In July 1998, the police
used live fire in an attempt to disperse a demonstration, killing
one law student. Police officers detained in the incident were
arrested and faced trial.
Dominican Marxist parties, illegal under Trujillo, emerged
from the underground after his death. During the civil war,
they supported Bosch and the Constitutionalists. Since then,
most of these groups have operated as legal political parties.
Although they have contested elections, they are small and
weak and have failed to win seats in the legislature. The Dominican
Communist Party, which has had a legal existence since
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