At the risk of oversimplifying something that isn't especially complicated, I ask whether anyone believes an electorate with an average level of education that exceeds 8 years (without addressing the question of quality, which is yet another valid consideration) would be as susceptible to salami waving, RD$500 note distributing as are so many Dominicans, whose average level of education, sadly, is below that number?
The Freddy y Punto gang had one of their best comic/tragic social commentary moments on this very subject during last night's program when they compared the US Democratic primary season events to Dominican elections.
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Originally Posted by qgrande
This is a bold statement and an interesting point.
Of course there are plenty of historical examples of dictators and pseudo-dictators actively keeping their populations uneducated, to avoid too much criticism. I think the Duvaliers and even Aristide are said to have followed this policy. And in the Dominican context, an uneducated uncritical population is of course a necessary element in a system of caciquismo.
But what about today's Dominican political elite? Do they actively and consciously underfund education and keep the Dominican population uneducated to maintain the political status quo? Or are they perhaps mildly yet genuinly interested in improving education, but end up being even more interested in filling their own pockets and spending money on projects that build short-term loyalty?
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