Balaguer Ricardo, Joaquin

▪ 2003

      Dominican lawyer, politician, and writer (b. Sept. 1, 1906, Villa Navarrete [now Villa Bisonó], Dom.Rep.—d. July 14, 2002, Santo Domingo, Dom.Rep.), held office for 22 years as the country's elected president. He was an autocrat who had the support of businessmen and whose paternalism endeared him to the poor. With leftist opponent Juan Bosch, he dominated Dominican politics for a generation. In 1929 Balaguer gained a law degree from the University of Santo Domingo, where he later taught, and in 1934 he received a doctorate in law and political economy from the University of Paris. He entered politics in 1932, becoming a protégé of dictator Rafael Trujillo, and held diplomatic and ministerial positions. In 1960 he was appointed president, then a largely figurehead position. Upon Trujillo's assassination in 1961, Balaguer attempted to liberalize the government, but in the following year he was driven from office and into exile in the U.S. When the U.S. sent military forces in 1965 to prevent a leftist takeover, Balaguer returned. He was elected president of the Dominican Republic in 1966 and reelected in 1970 and 1974. His government was brutally repressive, with hundreds of people disappearing or fleeing the country. The economy strengthened, however, and a middle class began to develop. Balaguer lost the 1978 election, but he returned to power in 1986, by which time he was virtually blind. He was reelected in 1990 and 1994 amid charges of fraud and was forced to agree to step down in 1996. His second period as elected president was less harsh, although the economy suffered, partly from falling sugar exports. Among his extensive public works projects, the most widely criticized was an enormous lighthouse completed in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus. Balaguer's writings included poetry and books on Latin American history, politics, and literature.

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