Introduction

A lawyer and writer, Joaquín Balaguer served as president from 1960–62, 1966–78 and 1986–96. Over seven terms, he outlasted all of his Latin American contemporaries with the exception of Fidel Castro.

Early Life

Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo was born on 1 Sept. 1906 in the northern town of Navarette. He studied law at the University of Santo Domingo, later gaining a PhD from the University of Paris. Following a short stint as a journalist, he moved into politics in 1930 when he was appointed Attorney General in the Court of Properties.

Balaguer held numerous posts during the dictatorship of Gen. Rafael Leonides Trujilio, including undersecretary of foreign relations (1937), secretary of education (1949–55) and secretary of state of foreign relations (1953–56). In 1957 he became vice-president and when Gen. Trujilio’s brother, Héctor, resigned his nominal role as president in 1960, Balaguer was sworn in as his successor.

Career Peak

Initially, Balguer was the puppet of the dictator, lacking little power in his own right. However, following Rafael Trujilio’s assassination in 1961, Belaguer adopted a more independent stance. His attempted reforms, though, met with opposition from both hard-line Trujillistas and liberal reformers, who deemed his proposals too weak. Balaguer held power until a military coup in 1962 forced him into exile in New York and then Puerto Rico.

US intervention in 1965 ended the Dominican Republic’s brief civil war and the following year Balaguer returned to run in the presidential election against Juan Bosch. The US president, Lyndon B. Johnson, supported Balaguer as a champion against communism. Balaguer duly won at the polls, securing re-election in 1970 and 1974. In these elections, the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), the only viable opposition party, boycotted proceedings. Balaguer’s 12 years in power from 1966 were marked by repression, though his tenure was considered less brutal than that of Trujilio.

Public work schemes, foreign investment, foreign borrowing and tourism all contributed to economic expansion. However, prosperity proved short lived. By the late 1970s growth had slowed and the country faced rising inflation and unemployment.

At the 1978 presidential election, Balaguer was defeated by Antonio Guzmán Fernández of the PRD and 4 years later he lost out to Salvador Jorge Blanco. However, Balaguer won a new term of office in 1986, aged 80. Blind, practically deaf and with his health in decline, his third presidency was marked by greater tolerance of opposition and an improved human rights record. He narrowly won re-election in 1990. Two years later, work was completed on his most visible legacy, the vast concrete Colombus Lighthouse to commemorate the landing of Columbus in Hispaniola in 1492. The controversial 10-storey edifice cost US$250m. at a time when the country faced 25% unemployment.

In 1994 Balaguer again won re-election amid charges of electoral fraud. Under international pressure, he agreed to stand down and schedule a new election in 1996.

Later Life

As a frail 92-year-old, he contested an eighth presidential term in 2000 but could secure only third place. On 14 July 2002 Balaguer died of heart failure in Santo Domingo.