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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Dominican_Republic
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Country in the West Indies, occupying the E
of the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti to
the W. The island is surrounded by the
Caribbean Sea. government although not a
federal state, the Dominican Republic has a
highly devolved system of 27 provinces, each
administered by an appointed governor, and a
national district, which includes the
capital, Santo Domingo. The 1966 constitution
provides for a popularly elected president
and a two-chamber congress, comprising a
senate and a chamber of deputies, all elected
for a four-year term. The senate has 28
members, one for each province and one for
the national district, and the chamber of
deputies 120 members, one per 50,000
inhabitants. The president is head of both
government and state and chooses the cabinet.
Most significant of a wide range of political
parties are the left-wing Dominican
Revolutionary Party (PRD) and the centrist
Christian Social Reform Party (PRSC). history
The first European to visit the island was
Christopher Columbus in 1492; he named it
Hispaniola (`Little Spain'). It was divided
between France and Spain in 1697, and in 1795
the Spanish part (Santo Domingo) was ceded to
France. After a revolt it was retaken by
Spain in 1808. Following a brief independence
in 1821 it was occupied by Haiti until the
establishment of the Dominican Republic in
1844. Spain occupied the country again
1861-65, and after independence was restored,
it was in such financial difficulties that in
1904 the USA took over its debts and
intervened militarily 1916-24. In 1930 the
elected president was overthrown in a
military coup and General Rafael Trujillo
Molina became dictator. He was assassinated
in 1961, and in 1963 Dr Juan Bosch, founder
and leader of the left-wing PRD, who had been
in exile for over 30 years, won the country's
first free elections. Within a year he was
overthrown by the military, who set up their
own three-man ruling junta. An attempt to
re-establish Bosch in 1965 was defeated with
US help, and in 1966 Joaquin Balaguer, a
protege of Trujillo and leader of the PRSC,
won the presidency. A more democratic
constitution was adopted and Balaguer,
despite his links with Trujillo, proved a
popular leader, being re-elected in 1970 and
1974. The 1978 election was won by the PRD
candidate, Silvestre Antonio Guzman. The PRD
was again successful in the 1982 election and
Salvador Jorge Blanco, the party's left-wing
nominee, became president-designate. After
allegations of fraud by his family, Guzman
committed suicide before he had finished his
term, and an interim president was chosen
before the start of Blanco's term. Blanco
steered a restrained course in foreign
policy, maintaining good relations with the
USA and avoiding too close an association
with Cuba. The economy deteriorated, and in
1985 the Blanco administration was forced to
adopt harsh austerity measures in return for
IMF help. The PRD became increasingly
unpopular and the PRSC, under Joaquin
Balaguer, returned to power in 1986.