Why is the Dominican Republic still developing?
(Click here for original)
I’ve received some interesting PMs and comments regarding Wednesday’s post about
surving in the third world. Each seemingly asking the same question – why? Why is it that much of the developing world is always developing? Why is it that in 2008 the differences between the developed and developing worlds are growing faster than ever? I’m going to take a shot at answering those questions but I’ll be the first to say that I am by no means an expert and if you asked a thousand people you’d probably get a thousand different theories. So, I am going to focus on what I have personally seen here in the Dominican Republic and try not to speculate too much.
There is absolutely no doubt that imperialism has played a role in the DR’s history and accounts for at least some of the causes of its current state of development. Spanish and French colonizers exterminated the native Taino Indians and exploited much of the natural resources. The country was twice invaded by the United States. The most recent interference of 1965 ousted the progressive intellectual and
grandfather of modern Dominican politics Juan Bosch (he founded the two major parties, the PLD and the PRD) only to replace him with
Joaquin Balaguer (the iron-fisted former right hand of the brutal dictator
Generalisimo Rafael Trujillo.) Balaguer’s subsequent administrations were marked by oppression of any political opposition and a general repression of civil liberties. It makes one wonder what the country would be like if Juan Bosch would have been in Balaguer’s shoes for all of those years.
Having said all of that, it is still only part of the story. And it’s the part that nobody can do anything about because it is all water under the bridge. Furthermore, it doesn’t fully answer the question as to why the country is still in a perpetual state of development in 2008. Can we really say that the reason only one in ten Dominicans graduates from high school is because of Christopher Columbus? Or that the reason the government is rife with clientelism and corruption is because the U.S. occupied the country several times in the 1900’s? Is it the United Nations’ and the World Trade Organization’s fault that the country’s infrastructure has been on the verge of collapse? Can we go on blaming “afuera” or “los Gringos” for all of our woes and expect things to get better?
Those are the questions I’ll do my best to answer on Monday. The lack of basic education, culture of corruption, and absence of political will to prioritize how to spend its limited resources are what’s killing the country. And it can’t go on like this forever.
Sidenote: Lest I be accused once again of
bashing the DR unfairly, I’ll be the first to say that American public education is nothing to brag about, we have tons of corruption in our government and we spend our resources like a drunken sailor on payday. And all three of those things are entirely our own fault. See? No double standard.
As usual, comments and criticism are welcome.
RHM
Why is the DR still "developing?"
