Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
December 20, 1876. Ever the opportunist, Baez returned once
more to power. The most effective opposition to his rule came
from guerrilla forces led by a politically active priest, Fernando
Arturo de Merino. In February 1878, the unpopular Baez
departed his country for the last time; he died in exile in 1882.
Both Santana and Baez had now passed from the scene.
They had helped create a nation where violence prevailed in
the quest for power, where economic growth and financial stability
fell victim to the seemingly endless political contest, and
where foreign interests still perceived parts of the national territory
as available to the highest bidder. This divisive, chaotic
situation invited the emergence of an able military leader and
a shrewd, despotic political leader who would dominate the
country over a seventeen-year period.
Ulises Heureaux, Growing Financial Dependence,
and Continued Instability
Ulises Heureaux, 1882-99
Ulises Heureaux, Luperon's lieutenant, stood out among his
fellow Dominicans both physically and temperamentally. The
illegitimate son of a Haitian father and a mother originally
from St. Thomas, he, like Luperon, was one of the few black
contenders for power. As events would demonstrate, he also
possessed a singular thirst for power and a willingness to take
any measures necessary to attain and to hold it.
During the four years between Baez's final withdrawal and
Heureaux's ascension to the presidency, seven individuals held
or claimed national, regional, or interim leadership. Among
them were Ignacio Maria Gonzalez Santin, who held the presidency
from June to September 1878; Luperon, who governed
from Puerto Plata as provisional president from October 1879
to August 1880; and Merino, who assumed office in September
1880 after apparently fraudulent general elections. Heureaux
served as minister of interior under Merino; his behind-thescenes
influence on the rest of the cabinet apparently
exceeded that of the president. Although Merino briefly suspended
constitutional procedures in response to unrest
fomented by some remaining baecistas, he abided by the twoyear
term established under Luperon and turned the reins of
government over to Heureaux on September 1, 1882.
Heureaux's first term as president was not particularly noteworthy.
The administrations of Luperon and Merino had
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