Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina
Courtesy Library of Congress
nism" as a threat to the country's traditional values that he
claimed he was seeking to uphold.
Trujillo also waved the ideological banner of economic
nationalism, although it sometimes cloaked his own personal
accumulation of wealth. Trujillo ended United States administration
of Dominican customs (in 1941), retired the Dominican
debt (in 1947), and introduced a national currency to
replace the dollar (also in 1947), even as he amassed a sizeable
personal fortune.
Economically, Trujillo eventually became the single dominant
force in the country by combining abuse of state power,
threats, and co-optation. Trujillo's initial schemes to enrich
himself revolved around the creation of state or commercial
monopolies. He then gradually moved into industry, forcing
owners to allow him to buy up shares, while also enjoying
healthy commissions on all public works contracts. After World
War II, Trujillo expanded into industrial production. His most
massive investments were made in sugar, which was largely foreign-owned.
The planning and implementation of Trujillo's
sugar operations, however, were so poor that had it not been
for the numerous state subsidies they received, they would have
lost money.
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