Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: Historical Setting
difficulty. In April 1984, the government imposed price
increases on fuel, food, and other items as part of a package of
measures negotiated with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF—see Glossary) to renew international credit flows. Protests
against these measures escalated into full-scale riots that
were tragically mismanaged by the armed forces, leading to
scores of deaths and the suspension of the measures. In the
face of growing international constraints, the administration
successfully complied with an IMF stand-by program over 1985
and 1986. However, the economic measures induced a sharp
recession in the country. Another problem was executive-congressional
deadlock, now driven by intraparty factionalism. The
PRD was increasingly divided between followers of Salvador
Jorge Blanco and Jose Francisco Peha Gomez on the one hand,
and Jacobo Majluta Azar, on the other. Other difficulties
resulted from the reassertion of patronage and executive largesse.
The situation in the country was perhaps responsible for the
outcome of the May 1986 elections: Balaguer emerged victorious
with a slim plurality, defeating Majluta of the PRD and
Bosch of the PLD; Bosch had nevertheless received 18 percent
of the vote, double the percentage from four years earlier. Balaguer
had merged his party with several smaller Christian Democratic
parties to form the Reformist Social Christian Party
(Partido Reformista Social Cristiano—PRSC). However, the
promise of a more coherent ideological base for his party was
never realized.
Balaguer began his 1986 term by denouncing the mistakes
and irregularities carried out by his predecessors. His denunciation
led ultimately to the arrest of former president Jorge
Blanco on corruption charges. The administration did nothing
to remove the factors that fostered corruption, however, seemingly
satisfied with discrediting the PRD and particularly Jorge
Blanco.
Balaguer also sought to revive the economy quickly, principally
by carrying out a number of large-scale public investment
projects. He pursued a policy of vigorous monetary expansion,
fueling inflationary pressures and eventually forcing the government
to move toward a system of exchange controls. Inflation,
which had been brought down to around 10 percent in
1986, steadily climbed through Balaguer's first term. Balaguer
also faced increasing social unrest in the late 1980s. Numerous
strikes, such as a one-day national strike in July 1987, another
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