Trujillo and the military: Organization, modernization and control of the Dominican armed forces, 1916-1961

From 1930 to 1961, Rafael L. Trujillo Molina, supported by the armed forces, tyranically ruled the Dominican people. During these thirty-one years, Trujillo exercised his power without restraint. A political record of violence, repression and terror was accompanied by the economic deprivation of the masses. The despotic and nepotistic regime concentrated national income in few hands. The beneficiaries were his relatives, friends and those who directly participated in one way or the other in maintaining the stability of the regime.;The impact of Trujillo's regime has generated considerable interdisciplinary historical analysis in regard to the nature and modus operandi of the dictatorship. I have chosen to analyze what I consider one of the most important and controversial issues of Trujillo's dictatorship: the specialized management of the military to consolidate and maintain political authority.;In this sense it is important to understand the extent to which the modus operandi of the regime was different from other Dominican or Latin American dictatorships. It is also crucial to understand that the Dominican military, as an institution, although it was overarmed, had no power even to decide about military issues. The nature of the dictatorship did not allow the military to play the corporate role of limiting or controlling political actions, but on the other hand this political immobility was profitable. In exchange for compliance officers and enlisted men received social mobility and economic benefits.;In my view an intriguing aspect of the regime merits a particular study: an overmilitarized state with a powerless military institution. In order to understand how this type of regime came about one must deal with the historical development of the Dominican military institution, and with the dominant socio-economic factors that allowed Trujillo to organize, to strengthen and to control the military apparatus as a basis for controlling the state and the nation.;With the increasing control of the nation, a parallel process developed--the strengthening of the armed forces. During these three decades the Dominican Republic reached a military capacity that did not correspond to the nation's size. The substantially superior capability was obvious. By the 1950's the country emerged as a dominant military power in the whole Caribbean Area.