He also established a paramilitary force, La 42, designed to persecute his opponents and generally instill fear in the population. He exerted full control over the island's economy, establishing monopolies over salt, meat and rice production. He engaged in blatant corruption and conflicts of interest, forcing Dominicans to buy staple food products distributed by his own companies.
By rapidly acquiring wealth, Trujillo was eventually able to push out owners across various sectors, such as insurance and tobacco production, forcing them to sell to him. He also issued propaganda proclaiming himself as the savior of a previously backward country. In he changed the name of Santo Domingo to Ciudad Trujillo Trujillo City and began to erect monuments and dedicate street names to himself. Despite the vast corruption of Trujillo's dictatorship, his fortunes were closely tied to the Dominican economy, and thus the population benefitted as his government went about modernizing the island and undertaking infrastructure and public works projects, such as improving sanitation and paving roads.
He was particularly successful in pushing industrialization, creating industrial plants for the production of shoes, beer, tobacco, alcohol, vegetable oil, and other products. Industries enjoyed special treatment, like protection from labor unrest and foreign competition. Sugar was one of Trujillo's largest ventures, particularly in the post-war era. Most of the sugar mills were owned by foreign investors, so he set about buying them up with state and personal funds.
He used nationalist rhetoric to back up his agenda of taking over foreign-owned sugar mills. One of Trujillo's most well-known legacies was his racist attitudes toward Haiti and the Haitian sugarcane laborers who lived near the border. He stoked the historic Dominican prejudice against Black Haitians, advocating a "'deafricanization' of the nation and restoration of 'Catholic values'" Knight, Despite his own mixed race identity, and the fact that he himself had a Haitian grandparent , he projected the image of the Dominican Republic as a White, Hispanic society, a myth that persists to this day with bigoted, anti-Haitian legislation being passed as recently as Trujillo's anti-Haitian sentiment culminated in the murder of an estimated 20, Haitians in October , when he traveled to the border and declared that the "Haitian occupation" of the border areas would no longer continue.
He ordered all Haitians remaining in the area to be murdered on sight. This act provoked widespread condemnation across Latin America and the U. Dominican exiles opposed to the Trujillo regime carried out two failed invasions, one in and one in Exiles tried to invade again on June 14, but were killed. The failed invasion inspired an organization for internal resistance known as the 14th of June Movement. The plan was uncovered and movement members fled or were imprisoned; many were killed.
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Use current location. See all locations. Admin Admin Admin, collapsed. Main navigation Events. The year remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history, marked by historic achievements, shocking assassinations, a much-hated war and a spirit of rebellion that swept through countries all over the world. Occurring at the dawn of the television age, the The s started off as the dawn of a golden age to most Americans. On January 20, , the handsome and charismatic John F.
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In May , President Lyndon B. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Trujillo's Absolute Power In , a group of rebels under the leadership of Rafael Estrella Urena planned to overthrow Dominican President Horacio Vasquez for disregarding the constitution by extending his presidential term.
Parsley Massacre Despite the fact that he technically ceded the presidency to his brother Hector in and and installed Joaquin Balaguer in , Trujillo retained ultimate control over the Dominican Republic for 31 years. Recommended for you. Robert F. Kennedy's Assassination.
During his additional years in office, Trujillo continued to use his power for personal profit. He took total control of all major industries and financial institutions. The country saw some improvements to its economy, but those were mainly limited to the capital city.
Trujillo himself candidly defended his reign with the assertion that, "He who does not know how to deceive does not know how to rule. Trujillo was known to treat the Dominican Republic's Haitian migrants with particularly severity and a deliberate disregard for their civil liberties.
In , he went so far as to orchestrate the massacre of thousands of Haitian immigrants. Trujillo officially held the office of president until , when he chose a puppet successor. He resumed his official position from until but subsequently continued to rule by force until his death in Toward the end of his life, he faced growing opposition from Dominican citizens as well as foreign pressure to relax his rule.
He also started losing military support from the army, with the CIA maneuvering to have him removed from power. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
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