I really hate to push a trend idea forward, but when I saw the Castro thread this is what jumped into my mind. Because while there have been many tinpot dictators in many banana republics, not many have had the caliber of insanity and depravity marked by the reign of Trujillo. So my question is, what would the Dominican Republic be like if Trujillo had never taken power, having Trujillo die at an early age.
Dominican Republic without Trujillo
- Thread starter Enigmajones
- Start date
Just to say, I saw a movie recently on a woman who became an opposition leader in those days, and who got murdered along others by Trujilo's thugs (clubed to death...), starting the final revolt...
That guy was ghastly.
That guy was ghastly.
Nah. He was Papa Doc grade nasty evil, and supplied help by USA maybe (MAYBE) in early cold war...
Trujilo was a bad, corrupt, narcissict and utterly mercyless against his enemies like a rightist Kim Il-Sung.
But he knew that to stay in power he couldn't just steal he also needed to develop the economy, so he built infrastructure, and hydropower stations, and accepted immigration from Europe (DR was the only country willing to take Jews fleeing Europe) and most importantly he stopped slash-and-burn agriculture and excessive logging which propably stopped a Haiti-style ecological catastrophe from happening.
But he knew that to stay in power he couldn't just steal he also needed to develop the economy, so he built infrastructure, and hydropower stations, and accepted immigration from Europe (DR was the only country willing to take Jews fleeing Europe) and most importantly he stopped slash-and-burn agriculture and excessive logging which propably stopped a Haiti-style ecological catastrophe from happening.
I doubt that, although the two groups would definitely clash at some point, without Trujillo, violence will probably not occur on a large scale.