Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: Historical Setting
his former supporters. His popularity was also affected by worsening
economic conditions. An economic downturn finally
affected the country around 1976, when the sugar boom that
had offset oil price increases faded. In addition, the country's
substantial growth, industrialization, and urbanization had
expanded middle-sector and professional groups, which were
disgruntled by Balaguer's method of rule and apparent discrimination
against newer and regional groups. The PRD, feeling
the mood of the population and sensing support from the
administration of United States president Jimmy Carter, nominated
a moderate, Silvestre Antonio Guzman Fernandez, as its
candidate to oppose Balaguer in the 1978 elections.
For these elections, the PRD also projected a more moderate
image and strengthened its international contacts, particularly
with the United States government and the Socialist International.
The PRD's ability to project itself as a less threatening
alternative to Balaguer in 1978 was facilitated by the decision of
Bosch in 1973 to abandon his party and establish another,
more radical and cadre-oriented party, the Party of Dominican
Liberation (Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana—PLD).
Bosch's exit followed upon his disillusionment with liberal
democracy following the 1965 United States intervention. In
the 1980s, however, he was to lead his party back into the electoral
arena.
Electoral victory did not come easily for the PRD. As it
became evident early in the morning after election day that the
party was winning by a wide margin, a military contingent
stopped the vote count. In the end, the effort to thwart the
elections was dismantled because of firm opposition by the
Carter administration, other Latin American and European
governments, and domestic groups. Yet, in the tense period
between the election and the inauguration, congressional electoral
results were "adjusted" to provide the exiting Balaguer
with a guarantee that he would not be prosecuted. Principally
this adjustment involved giving Balaguer's party, the PR, a
majority in the Senate, which appointed judges, and thus was
key to the successful prosecution of corruption charges.
The PRD in Power and Balaguer, Again
Unlike Balaguer, the leaders of the Dominican Revolutionary
Party (PRD) promoted a democratic agenda. During the
electoral campaign of 1978, the PRD conveyed the image of
being the party of change (el partido del cambio); the party
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