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The Politics of Civil-Military Relations in the Dominican Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Howard J. Wiarda
Howard J. Wiarda*
Affiliation:
Department of Government, University of Massachusetts
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Extract

The armed forces in nearly all of the developing countries have frequently played a significant role in the political process. Because civilian groups—such as political parties, interest associations, bureaucracies—tend to be weak, fluid, and amorphous during the transition from a “traditional” to a “modern” society, the military is liable to be the strongest and best organized actor in the system. The roles may vary, from performing minimal governmental functions to exercising exclusive governing power, but in general the armed forces in the developing countries have a deeper domestic involvement in government and politics than their counterparts in the more “developed” nations.

From an historical point of view, Latin America is often considered the home of political militarism. The caudillo, or “man on horseback,” has traditionally galloped in and out of the presidential palace with frequent regularity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Inter-American Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , October 1965 , pp. 465 - 484
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1965

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References

1 Terms such as “traditional” and “modern,” “underdeveloped” and “developed” are used advisedly to denote “ideal types.” See the introduction in Almond, Gabriel A. and Coleman, James S., The Politics of the Developing Areas (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960)Google Scholar.

2 See Janowitz, Morris, The Military in the Political Development of New Nations: An Essay in Comparative Analysis (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964)Google Scholar. Although Janowitz excludes Latin America from his consideration, many of his statements and models regarding civil-military relations in the new nations are applicable to that area. For a comparative work that does include the countries of Latin America see Johnson, John J. (ed.), The Role of the Military in Underdeveloped Countries (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1962)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 Johnson, John J., The Military and Society in Latin America (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1964)Google Scholar; and Lieuwen, Edwin, Arms and Politics in Latin America (New York: Praeger, 1961)Google Scholar.

4 Lieuwen, Edwin, Generals versus Presidents: Neo-Militarism in Latin America (New York: Praeger, 1965)Google Scholar.

5 While the emphasis in this paper is on civil-military relations, such factors as the structure of the armed forces and the social background of its members cannot be ignored. A more extensive consideration of these and other variables, however, will appear in a forthcoming comparative study by L. N. McAlister of the military in five Latin American countries, one of which is the Dominican Republic.

6 Schoenrich, Otto, Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future (New York: Macmillan, 1918), pp. 317–318 and 332-333Google Scholar.

7 The Constabulary in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua: Progeny and Legacy of United States Intervention (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1962), p. 2.

8 Naboth's Vineyard: The Dominican Republic, 1844-1924, II (New York: Payson and Clarke, Ltd., 1928), 903.

9 Goldwert, , The Constabulary, pp. 5–13 Google Scholar.

10 Kelsey, Carl, “The American Intervention in Haiti and the Dominican Republic,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, C (March, 1922), 180 Google Scholar. See also Bosch, Juan, Trujillo: Causas de una tiranía sin ejemplo (Caracas: Grabados Nacionales, 1959), p. 21 Google Scholar.

11 Gruening, Ernest, “Dictatorship in Santo Domingo: A Joint Concern,” The Nation, CXXXVIII (May 23, 1934), 584 Google Scholar; Hicks, Albert C., Blood in the Streets: The Life and Role of Trujillo (New York: Creative Age Press, 1946), pp. 27–30 Google Scholar; and Thomson, Charles A., “Dictatorship in the Dominican Republic,” Foreign Policy Reports, XII (April 15, 1936), 31 Google Scholar.

12 Sumner Welles’ history was later banned from circulation in the Dominican Republic by Trujillo because it contained some disparaging comments about the personnel that served in the constabulary.

13 y Págan, Ernesto Vega, Military Biography of Generalissimo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (Ciudad Trujillo: Editorial Atenas, 1956)Google Scholar, passim and appendices.

14 Mejía, Luis F., De Lilís a Trujillo: Historia contemporánea de la República Dominicana (Caracas: Editorial Elite, 1944), p. 147 Google Scholar.

15 Ornes, Germán, Trujillo: Little Caesar of the Caribbean (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1958), pp. 46–59 Google Scholar.

16 For a more complete summary of Trujillo's ruling techniques see Wiarda, Howard J., “Trujillo's Dominican Republic: A Case Study in the Methods of Control,” unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1962 Google Scholar.

17 The Statesman's Year Book, 1961-1962 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961), p. 957.

18 Ornes, , Little Caesar, p. 132 Google Scholar.

19 Jane's Fighting Ships (London: Jane's Fighting Ships Publishing Co., 1958), pp. 170-174.

20 Pagán, Ernesto Vega y, Historia de las Fuerzas Armadas, II (Ciudad Trujillo: Impresora Dominicana, 1955), 497–498 Google Scholar.

21 The equipment is listed in ibid., pp. 236-247 and pp. 497-498.

22 Ibid., pp. 407-409. The report of a study mission to the Caribbean in 1957 by U.S. Senator George D. Aiken stated that the Dominican Republic “appears to be quite independent of outside supplies so far as arms necessary to maintain internal order is concerned.” See Aiken, George D., Report of a Study Mission to the Caribbean in December, 1957, to Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1958), p. 12 Google Scholar.

23 Hicks, , Blood in the Streets, p. 80 Google Scholar; and Ornes, , Little Caesar, p. 138 Google Scholar.

24 Pagán, Vega y, Historia, p. 291 Google Scholar.

25 Ibid., pp. 219-220.

26 Porter, Charles and Alexander, Robert J., The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America (New York: Macmillan, 1961), pp. 147–148 Google Scholar; Ornes, , Little Caesar, p. 139 Google Scholar; and The New York Times, April 5, 1960, p. 18.

27 Galíndez, Jesús de, La era de Trujillo (Santiago de Chile: Editorial del Pacífica, 1956). p. 307 Google Scholar; and Hispanic American Report, V (June, 1952), 18.

28 Ornes, , Little Caesar, pp. 142–143 Google Scholar.

29 Vega y Pagan, Historia, pp. 193-200; and Thomson, , Foreign Policy, p. 37 Google Scholar.

30 Galindez, , La era de Trujillo, pp. 358–366 Google Scholar; and Ornes, , Little Caesar, pp. 222–226 Google Scholar.

31 Hicks, , Blood in the Streets, p. 179 Google Scholar; and Ornes, , Little Caesar, p. 132 Google Scholar.

32 Jiménez-Grullón, Juan Isidro, Una Gestapo en América (La Habana: Editorial Lex, 1946)Google Scholar; and Hicks, Blood in the Streets, passim.

33 Henríquez, Noel, La verdad sobre Trujillo: Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Galíndez (La Habana: Imprenta Económica en General, 1959)Google Scholar; and Ornes, , Little Caesar, pp. 120–130 Google Scholar.

34 For the details of these and other terroristic acts see Espaillat, Arturo, Trujillo: The Last Caesar (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1963), pp. 112–125 Google Scholar; Porter, and Alexander, , The Struggle for Democracy, p. 146 Google Scholar; Galíndez, , La era de Trujillo, pp. 265–268 Google Scholar; Henríquez, La verdad, passim; Hicks, Blood in the Streets, passim; and Time, LXXIX (April 13, 1962), p. 41. While most of the accumulated evidence is circumstantial, the basic patterns and formulas have been repeated so often and the excuses of “accident,” “disappearance,” or “suicide” employed so many times that the validity of many of the charges cannot be doubted.

35 Raymundo Cuevas Sena, “Gesta contra la tiranía: Complot de los Sargentos Técnicos ASD”, El 1J4, I (February 28, 1962), 4.

36 Murray Kempton, “The Vault Cracks,” New York Post, February 10, 1960, reprinted in The New York Times, February 11, 1960, p. 29; and Eladio Guaroa Pepin Soto, “Gesta contra la tiranía: Complot de los ex-Policías de Tránsito”, El 1J4, I (March 17, 1962), 7.

37 Gall, Norman, “How Trujillo Died,” The New Republic, CXLVIII (April 13, 1963), 19–20 Google Scholar.

38 Alberto Arvelo González, R., “Las Fuerzas Armadas Dominicanas”, Unión Cívica, I (November 8, 1961), 2 Google Scholar; (November 11, 1961), 3; (November 15, 1961), 6; and (November 21, 1961), 2. See also Leuris Oviedo y Oviedo, “Ojalá Fuerzas’ Armadas lleguen a ser apolítica”, El 1J4, I (January 31, 1962), 9.

39 Hispanic American Report, XIV (October, 1961), 699; and EI Caribe, November 8, 1961, p. 13.

40 See Beals, Carleton, “Gunboat Diplomacy and the Dominican Crisis,” National Guardian, December 11, 1961, pp. 1 Google Scholar if; “Dominica's Slow Awakening” The Economist, CCII (January 27, 1962), 330 ff; Francis Grant, “Dominican Ordeal Ending,” Hemispherica, X (November-December, 1961), 1-3; Levin, V., “The U.S.A. Uses the Big Stick,” International Affairs [Moscow], January, 1962, pp. 94–95 Google Scholar; Rayford Logan. “Dominican Republic: Struggle for Tomorrow,” The Nation, CXCIII (December 16, 1961), 488-496; and Whitney, Thomas P., “In the Wake of Trujillo,” The New Republic, CXLV (December 11, 1961), 6–8 Google Scholar.

41 See the biography of Rodríquez Echavarría in The New York Times, December 20, 1961, p. 16; and the General's own statement of his political position in La Nación, December 17, 1961, p. 12. See also Gatereaux, Federico Henríquez, “División en las Fuerzas Armadas”, Unión Cívica, I (December 12, 1961), 3 Google Scholar.

42 El Caribe, January 18, 1961, p. 1; and “Dominica's Awakening,” p. 333.

43 General Víctor Elby Viñas Román, Secretary of the Armed Forces, personal interview, Santo Domingo, January 3, 1965. 44 See El 1J4, II (May 17, 1963), 1.

45 For the report of this single case see El Caribe, September 9, 1962, p. 13.

46 Ramón Alberto Ferreras, “Conjura Trujillista continua en las Fuerzas Armadas”, Claridad, I (June 30, 1962), 1; and Szulc, Tad, “Trujillo's Legacy: A Democratic Vacuum,” The New York Times Magazine, September 2, 1962, p. 40 Google Scholar.

47 Ayuso, Juan José, “El gran problema: la reducción y depuración de las Fuerzas Armadas”, Ahora, I (July 20, 1962), 43–46 Google Scholar.

48 See Abraham Lowenthal, “U. S. Aid to the Dominican Republic: The Politics of Foreign Aid,” unpublished manuscript: Harvard University, 1964; and Tineo, Rafael Morel, “El General Peguero y la Alianza para el Progreso en la Policía Nacional”, Avance, I (January 1964), 9 Google Scholar.

49 Department of State Bulletin, XLVI (February 12, 1962), 258-259; and Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas, XIII (October-December, 1962), 56.

50 Szulc, “Trujillo's Legacy,” p. 41. For the rationale behind the U. S. effort see Michael J. Francis, “Military Aid to Latin America in the U.S. Congress,” Journal of Inter-American Studies, VI (July 1964), 389-404.

51 See, for example, the booklet Conozca lo que ocurrirá a nuestro país si el comunismo logra adueñarse de poder (Santo Domingo: Centro de Enseñanza de las Fuerzas Armadas, 1963).

52 Gall, Norman, “Dominican Republic: The Goons Again,” The Nation, CXCVIII (February 17, 1964), 159–161 Google Scholar; and “Misión militar norteamericana”, PNR, I (February 2, 1962), 12.

53 Saldana, R. E. J., “Acción civil en las Fuerzas Armadas y su razón de ser”, Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas, XIII (October-December, 1962), 35–36 Google Scholar. Each subsequent issue of the Revista contained one or two pages devoted to military civic action programs.

54 Robert J. Alexander, “Democratic Victory in the Dominican Republic,” New Americas, III (January 15, 1963), 3 ff; and El 114, II (Aprü 26, 1963), 1. Evidence for this three-way split also came from interviews held by the author with armed forces personnel during the election campaign.

55 Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas, XIII (January-February, 1963), 2.

56 Bosch, Juan, “Why I Was Overthrown,” The New Leader, XLVI (October 14, 1963), 3–4 Google Scholar.

57 Allan, Donald A., “Santo Domingo: The Empty Showcase,” The Reporter, XXIX (December 5, 1963), 30 Google Scholar; and Bosch, Juan, Crisis de la democracia de América en la República Dominicana (Mexico: B. Costa-Ámic, 1964), pp. 184–185 Google Scholar.

58 Augustín Ant. Cruz Domínguez, “Exhortación a mis compañeros de armas”, XIII (January-February, 1963), 25; Elias Wessin y Wessin, “A todos mis hermanos de armas”, XIV (May-June, 1963), 13; José de Jesús Curiel Mejía, “Así actúa el Comunismo”, XIV (July-August, 1963), 23; and Manuel de Jesús Suero Cedeño, “El Comunismo: Peste Moral”, XIV (September-October, 1963), 29. See also Mario Bobea Billini, “Como están las relaciones entre el Presidente y las Fuerzas Armadas“? Ahora, II (2nd Fortnight of July 1963), 51.

59 The text is in El Caribe, July 9, 1963, p. 9.

60 El Caribe, June 9, 1963, p. 1.

61 El Caribe, July 11, 1963, p. 1; and Thelma Frías de Rodríguez, “Bosch se opuso a la modificación de la ley orgánica de la policía”, Ahora, III (December 12, 1964), 10 ff.

62 Gall, Norman, “Bosch Rejects Army Threat,” San Juan Star, July 18, 1963, p. 1 Google Scholar; and Ramos, Leoncio, “La crisis política de San Isidro”, Ley y Justicia, I (August 18, 1963), 3–11 Google Scholar.

63 See the interview with Wessin reported by Burt, Al, Miami Herald, September 29, 1963, p. 1-AGoogle Scholar.

64 For conflicting accounts of the coup see Bosch, Juan, “La gramática parda del golpismo”, Life en Español (November 11, 1963), pp. 14–17 Google Scholar; Nehemkis, Peter, Latin America: Myth and Reality (New York: Knopf, 1964), pp. 141–143 Google Scholar; and Libro Blanco de las Fuerzas Armadas y de la Policía Nacional de la República Dominicana: estudios y pruebas de las causas del movimiento reivindicador del 25 de Septiembre de 1963 (Santo Domingo: Editora del Caribe, 1964).

65 See Gall, “Dominican Republic …”, pp. 159-161; and Wiarda, Howard J., “Trujilloism without Trujillo,” The New Republic, CLI (September 19, 1964), 5–6 Google Scholar, and reprinted in Spanish in Panoramas, XV (May-June, 1965), 65-69, for a more detailed analysis of this graft and oppression.

66 See the biographies of the armed forces leaders in their publications, Avance and Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas.

67 These observations were based on interviews with a sample of Dominican officers and enlisted men carried out during 1964 and early 1965. For a more detailed statement of the results and the methodology, see Howard J. Wiarda “The Aftermath of the Trujillo Dictatorship: The Emergence of a Pluralist Political System in the Dominican Republic,” unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1965, Chapter IV; and Wiarda, “Problems of Questionnaire Administration and Analysis in a Latin American Field Situation” in Proceedings of a Conference on “Strategies of Research in Studying the Changing Role of the Armed Forces” (Washington: Special Operations Research Office, American University, forthcoming).