Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
The number of Haitian workers employed results from the
shortage of Dominican workers and from the refusal of many
Dominicans to do certain work or to work in certain places. For
example, Dominicans look down on cutting sugarcane, work
they view as fit only for Haitians, nor do they want to work near
the border with Haiti. The large demand for Haitians as cane
cutters declined rapidly in the 1980s, however, as the Dominican
Republic shifted to tourism and the industrial free zones as
major earners of foreign exchange. Haitians were mainly
excluded from these areas but continued to work in construction,
including the building of tourist complexes. When Balaguer
returned to office in 1986, he initiated a public works
program, which provided employment to a number of Haitians.
The number of Haitians in the Dominican Republic was
affected in 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 1999 by deportation.
Urban Society
The Elite
The last 200 years have transformed the composition and
configuration of the country's elite. Nonetheless, in the late
1990s the Dominican Republic remains a country where a relatively
small number of families control great wealth while the
majority of the population live in poverty. The middle stratum
struggles, at its lower end, to maintain economic standing and
expand its political participation and, at its upper reaches, to
gain greater social acceptance and economic prosperity. Hispanic-Mediterranean
ideals about the proper mode of life and
livelihood continue to be significant. The primary social division
is between two polar groups: the elite (
la gente buena or la
gente culta) and the masses.
The first half of the nineteenth century saw the elimination
of many of the noteworthy families of the colonial era. During
the period of Haitian domination, many prominent landowners
liquidated their holdings and left. The War of Restoration
against Spain also brought about changes, permitting lowerclass
persons who had enjoyed military success some social and
economic upward mobility. The rise of sugarcane was another
factor of change. The booming industry attracted immigrants
of European extraction who assimilated rapidly. Poorer elite
families saw a chance to improve their financial status through
marriage to recently arrived and financially successful immigrants.
Even well-to-do families recognized the advantages of
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