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Dominican Republic OCCUPATION BY THE UNITED STATES, 1916-24
The assassination of Cáceres turned out to be but the
first
act of a frenzied drama that culminated in the republic's
occupation by the United States. The fiscal stability that
had
resulted from the 1905 receivership eroded under Cáceres's
successor, Eladio Victoria y Victoria; most of the
increased
outlays went to support military campaigns against
rebellious
partisans, mainly in the Cibao. The continued violence and
instability prompted the administration of President
William H.
Taft to dispatch a commission to Santo Domingo on
September 24,
1912, to mediate among the warring factions. The presence
of a
750-member force of United States Marines apparently
convinced
the Dominicans of the seriousness of Washington's threats
to
intervene directly in the conflict; Victoria agreed to
step down
in favor of a neutral figure, Roman Catholic archbishop
Adolfo
Alejandro Nouel Bobadilla. The archbishop assumed office
as
provisional president on November 30.
Nouel proved unequal to the burden of national
leadership.
Unable to mediate successfully between the ambitions of
rival
horacistas and jimenistas, he stepped down
on March
31, 1913. His successor, José Bordas Valdés, was equally
unable
to restrain the renewed outbreak of hostilities. Once
again,
Washington took a direct hand and mediated a resolution.
The
rebellious horacistas agreed to a cease-fire based
on a
pledge of United States oversight of elections for members
of
local ayuntamientos and a constituent assembly that
would
draft the procedures for presidential balloting. The
process,
however, was flagrantly manipulated and resulted in
Bordas's
reelection on June 15, 1914. Both horacistas and
jimenistas took offense at this blatant maneuver
and rose
up against Bordas.
The United States government, this time under President
Woodrow Wilson, again intervened. Where Taft had cajoled
the
combatants with a clear intimation of military action,
Wilson
delivered an ultimatum: elect a president or the United
States
will impose one. The Dominicans accordingly selected Ramón
Báez
Machado as provisional president on August 27, 1914.
Comparatively fair presidential elections held on October
25
returned Jiménez to the presidency. Despite his victory,
however,
Jiménez felt impelled to appoint leaders and prominent
members of
the various political factions to positions in his
government in
an effort to broaden its support. The internecine
conflicts that
resulted had quite the opposite effect, weakening the
government
and the president and emboldening Secretary of War
Desiderio
Arias to take control of both the armed forces and the
Congress,
which he compelled to impeach Jiménez for violation of the
constitution and the laws. Although the United States
ambassador
offered military support to his government, Jiménez opted
to step
down on May 7, 1916.
Arias never formally assumed the presidency. The United
States government had apparently tired of its recurring
role as
mediator and had decided to take more direct action.
United
States forces had already occupied Haiti by this time
(see Dominican Republic - The United States Occupation, 1915-34
, ch. 6). The initial
military
administrator of Haiti, Rear Admiral William Caperton, had
actually forced Arias to retreat from Santo Domingo by
threatening the city with naval bombardment on May 13. The
first
Marines landed three days later. Although they established
effective control of the country within two months, the
United
States forces did not proclaim a military government until
November. Most Dominican laws and institutions remained
intact
under military rule, although the shortage of Dominicans
willing
to serve in the cabinet forced the military governor, Rear
Admiral Harry S. Knapp, to fill a number of portfolios
with
United States naval officers. The press and radio were
censored
for most of the occupation, and public speech was limited.
The surface effects of the occupation were largely
positive.
The Marines restored order throughout most of the republic
(with
the exception of the eastern region); the country's budget
was
balanced, its debt was diminished, and economic growth
resumed;
infrastructure projects produced new roads that linked all
the
country's regions for the first time in its history; a
professional military organization, the Dominican
Constabulary
Guard, replaced the partisan forces that had waged a
seemingly
endless struggle for power
(see Dominican Republic - History and Development of the Armed Forces
, ch. 5). Most Dominicans, however, greatly
resented
the loss of their sovereignty to foreigners, few of whom
spoke
Spanish or displayed much real concern for the welfare of
the
republic.
The most intense opposition to the occupation arose in
the
eastern provinces of El Seibo and San Pedro de Macorís.
From 1917
to 1921, the United States forces battled a guerrilla
movement in
that area known as the gavilleros. The guerrillas
enjoyed
considerable support among the population, and they
benefited
from a superior knowledge of the terrain. The movement
survived
the capture and the execution of its leader, Vicente
Evangelista,
and some initially fierce encounters with the Marines.
However,
the gavilleros eventually yielded to the occupying
forces'
superior firepower, air power (a squadron of six Curtis
Jennies),
and determined (often brutal) counterinsurgent methods.
After World War I, public opinion in the United States
began
to run against the occupation. Warren G. Harding, who
succeeded
Wilson in March 1921, had campaigned against the
occupations of
both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In June 1921,
United
States representatives presented a withdrawal proposal,
known as
the Harding Plan, which called for Dominican ratification
of all
acts of the military government, approval of a loan of
US$2.5
million for public works and other expenses, the
acceptance of
United States officers for the constabulary--now known as
the
National Guard (Guardia Nacional)--and the holding of
elections
under United States supervision. Popular reaction to the
plan was
overwhelmingly negative. Moderate Dominican leaders,
however,
used the plan as the basis for further negotiations that
resulted
in an agreement allowing for the selection of a
provisional
president to rule until elections could be organized.
Under the
supervision of High Commissioner Sumner Welles, Juan
Bautista
Vicini Burgos assumed the provisional presidency on
October 21,
1922. In the presidential election of March 15, 1924,
Horacio
Vásquez Lajara handily defeated Francisco J. Peynado.
Vásquez's
Alliance Party (Partido Alianza) also won a comfortable
majority
in both houses of Congress. With his inauguration on July
13,
control of the republic returned to Dominican hands.
Data as of December 1989
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