Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
faced increasing national economic constraints that forced
stringent limits on defense spending. Although force levels and
personnel budgets were generally left untouched, aging equipment
was not replaced. As a result, as of 1999 equipment in all
three services was outmoded, in short supply, and of doubtful
operational utility.
Role of the Military in Public Life
The 1966 constitution describes the armed forces as "essentially
obedient and apolitical and without the right to deliberate.
The purpose of their creation is to defend the
independence and integrity of the republic, to maintain public
order, and to uphold the Constitution and the laws." By law,
members of the armed forces are denied the right to vote and
the right to participate in the activities of political parties and
organized labor.
Since the early 1960s, the political influence of the military
has declined. And military officers have largely accepted their
status as defenders of national sovereignty and their subservience
to the civilian government hierarchy. During Balaguer's
first two terms (1966-78), the president reinforced his control
by accommodating high officers, helping them to become
landowners, merchants, and industrialists, positions they could
not have attained had they remained in the purely military
sphere. When Balaguer left office in 1978, the officers were
reluctant to see power handed over to Antonio Guzman, fearing
a threat to their profitable positions. Their fears were justified.
Guzman retired some forty pro-Balaguer generals and
introduced a period of military professionalization. When Balaguer
resumed power in 1986, however, the retired generals
were reintegrated into the military and offered a financial
stake in the regime. Although friendly to the military establishment,
Balaguer's authoritarian style enabled him to keep it on
a tight leash (see Interest Groups and Social Actors, ch. 4).
After disputed elections marred by fraud in 1994 between
Jose Francisco Peha Gomez of the Dominican Revolutionary
Party (Partido Revolucionario Dominicano—PRD) and Balaguer
of the Reformist Social Christian Party (Partido Reformista
Social Cristiano—PRSC), the Dominican military openly
supported the election board's declaration of Balaguer's victory.
(Balaguer had won elections in 1966, 1970, and 1974; was
voted out of office in 1978; and was reelected in 1986 and
1990.) An official communique warned against attempts to
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