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Dominican Republic The Middle Sector
The middle sector in the late 1980s represented roughly
30 to
35 percent of the population, concentrated in the ranks of
salaried professionals in government and the private
sector. They
had virtually no independent sources of wealth, and so
they were
responsive to changes in the buying power of wages and to
contractions in employment that accompanied economic
cycles. The
middle level followed the racial stratification of the
society as
a whole: generally lighter-skinned as one proceeded up the
social
scale. As a group, the middle sector differed in
lifestyle, in
marital stability, and in occupations from the poor urban
masses.
They firmly adhered to the Hispanic ideals of leisure and
lifestyle espoused by the elite, and they considered
themselves,
at least in spirit, a part of la gente buena. As
with the
elite, economic expansion, based on the growth of sugar
production in the late nineteenth century, broadened the
middle
reaches of the social ladder as well. Those of this new
middle
segment, however, were limited in their upward mobility by
dark
skin and/or limited finances. They were a diverse group,
including small shopowners, teachers, clerical employees,
and
professionals. They lacked a class identity based on any
sense of
common social or economic interests; moreover, any sense
of
mutual interest was undermined by the pervasiveness of the
patron-client system. Individuals improved their status by
linking up with a more privileged protector, not by joint
political action for a shared goal.
The life strategy of middle-class families was similar
to
that of the elite. Their goals were to diversify their
economic
assets and to extend their network of political and social
influence. As with the elite, the middle-level family
solidified
its position through patronage. An influential family
could offer
jobs to loyal followers and supporters. People expected
that
those with power would use it for their own ends and for
the
advancement of their own and their family's interests.
Ties to
government were particularly important, because the
government
was the source of many coveted jobs
(see Dominican Republic - Public Administration
, ch. 4).
Data as of December 1989
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