Hello, everyone,
My Composition I Summer Class and I are very happy to share the results of our writing adventure during the 2018 Summer Course at the Languages School at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, first in America. This is the second time my students and I follow the writing process focusing on the Dominican Republic recent history (1959-1978). We hope you all enjoy these nine essays on historical dates, events and characters. Does any of the events, characters or dates call your attention? Why? How are any of the events and characters similar to those in your country?
THE MIRABAL SISTERS
By
Anyi Rosario Dirocie
The Mirabal
sisters were important women for the Dominican Republic. They focused on the
situation that Dominicans were living. They formed a movement with the purpose
of overthrowing Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. They were convinced that the country
needed a change in political rules. They did memorable things for the Dominican
Republic. They sacrificed their lives to free Dominicans from Trujillo`s regime.
First of all, the lives of Mirabal sisters were
interesting. The Mirabal sisters were from Ojo de Agua in Salcedo. They grew up
there with their parents. Patria, the eldest one, was born on February 27th,
1924. She studied at Inmaculada Concepcion School. She got married at the age
17, and had four children. Minerva was born on March 12th, 1926.
After she finished school, she enrolled at Universidad de Santo Domingo where
she studied law. She married Manolo Tavarez Justo, and had two children. Maria
Teresa was born on October 15th, 1935. She studied math at
Universidad de Santo Domingo. She married Leandro Guzman and they had a child.
One very important thing was the contribution of the
Mirabal sisters to the Dominican Republic for its liberation from Trujillo`s
regime. The Mirabal sisters dedicated their lives to fight against Trujillo`s
dictatorship. They and their husbands did not want to live under Trujillo`s
regime. That was the reason why they formed a movement named El Movimiento del
14 de Junio (The Movement of Jun 14th). They were symbols and
leaders of that movement in which they were commonly known as The Butterflies.
They distributed pamphlets about many people whom Trujillo had killed, and
obtained materials for guns and bombs to use when they eventually openly
revolted. They never gave up to defend their rights because they were brave
women, so they were not afraid of Trujillo`s dictatorship. The Mirabal sisters
always tried to free the Dominican Republic from Trujillo`s dictatorship. They were
models to follow.
The Mirabal Sisters death was terrible. They were
brutally assassinated by a person who was sent by Trujillo. Before their death,
they were taken to prison because of their plan to fight against Trujillo`s
regime. Trujillo realized that there were some people who agreed with the plan
of the Mirabal sisters to finish with his dictatorship. So he decided to kill
them. They were captured on a road and forced to enter into a jeep by the
killer. They were tortured and assassinated in a horrific way. The way the
Mirabal sisters were murdered impacted a lot of people around the world.
To sum up, the lives of Mirabal sisters attract
people`s interest. The things that the Mirabal sisters did for the Dominican
Republic made them unforgettable women. Their brutal
murder remained in the memory of Dominican people forever.
DR. JOSÉ FRANCISCO PEÑA GÓMEZ
By Belgica
Yinett Morales Manzanillo
DR. José Francisco
Peña Gómez is a very important character in the Dominican Republic. He taught
Dominican people to be strong and fight for what they want to achieve one day.
To José Francisco Peña Gómez, democracy is what represents a nation. It’s
doesn’t matter what skin color people have to show the great capacity they have
in society.
First of
all, José Francisco Peña Gómez was born on March 6th, 1937 on the
hill of El Flaco, Cruce Guayacanes, Mao. He was abandoned when he was a few
years old when the terror spread in the Dominican countryside, especially in
the areas near the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His parents
had to flee from the persecution of the dictator, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in
1937, during the massacre of Haitians. José Francisco Peña Gómez stayed in the
mountains of Gurabo, Mao along with his only brother, Domingo and a minor
relative. For these reasons, José Francisco Peña Gómez had a hard childhood.
A second
part of José Francisco Peña Gómez’s life is about is importance for the
Dominican Republic. José Francisco Peña Gómez was one of the most popular
leaders in recent political history in the Dominican Republic. He is synonymous
with democracy due to his populist discourse. At the time of his death, with admirers
converging from all areas of the country, the Dominican government had to
accept his body to be displayed at the Estadio Olímpico Feliz Sánchez (Felix
Sánchez Olympic Stadium) in the Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte (Juan Pablo
Duarte Olympic Center) to accommodate the crowd that was waiting for the body.
In his honor, the most important airport in the Dominican Republic was renamed to
Aeropuerto Internacional de las Americas, José Francisco Peña Gómez (Las
Americas International Airport José Francisco Peña Gómez). José Francisco Peña
Gómez was a good example in Dominican political history.
José
Francisco Peña Gómez´s death resulted in a generalized commotion in the
country. He died of pulmonary edema the morning of May 10th, 1998 at
his home in Cambita, Garabitos. Following his death, the Dominican government
decreed three days of national mourning in recognition of his personal merits
and indisputable contributions to democracy.
In
conclusion, José Francisco Peña Gómez left a mark of struggle for equality and
democracy in the Dominican Republic. Although José Francisco Peña Gómez did not
have a good childhood, he could manage to be very important in life and excel
among people with his effort and performance. His life shows that when people
struggle to achieve what they set out to do, it does not matter what obstacles
to succeed and leave traces.
THE 1965 WAR
By Débora Lisania Guerrero Cueto
The 1965 War helps to remember how democracy was
fought in the Dominican Republic. During this important historical event, the people
joined the fight and many lost their lives. In spite of the years that have
passed, this event still has a message for today’s Dominican society. The 1965
War was a demonstration of courage in Dominican history.
First of all, the antecedents of the 1965 War are part
of the recent Dominican history. To begin with, in 1930, Rafael Leonidas
Trujillo Molina started his government. In those times, people lived a life
full of violence and fear. There was not freedom of expression. After 31 years
of political oppression, a group of men decided to kill the dictator. After
Trujillo's death, the first democratic elections were celebrated in the
country. In those elections, Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was democratically
elected as president of the Dominican Republic. In his government, Juan Bosch
tried to help poor sectors such as farmers, children and Dominican families.
But in spite of his good government, Bosch forgot that Trujillo’s followers
were still in the country. This group of people gave a coup d’état to Juan
Bosch when he had been president for only 7 months. The Triunvirato government was
established, and Prof. Bosch was exiled to Puerto Rico. The Dominican people
felt very happy with the democratic government they had for only 7 months with
Bosch as president and decided to fight for democracy.
When the war started, prominent people were selected
as main leaders. They were known for their actions during the war. These
leaders were not only men. There were also many women who gave their lives for
democracy in the Dominican Republic. Some of them are Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó,
Juan María Lora Fernández, Rafael Tomás Fernández Domínguez and Emma Tavares
Justo. Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó was born in
San Juan de la Maguana, on June 11th, 1932. He is known as a courageous
hero in Dominican history. He took charge of the constitutional presidency of
the Republic during the war. Juan Maria Lora Fernández was born in la Vega, on
April 30th, 1929. Being a young man, he decided to get into the
National Police. He was responsible of the taking of Ozama Fortress. Lora was a
Major in the Constitutional Army. Rafael Tomás Fernández Domínguez was born in
Valverde, on September 18th, 1934. He directed the Constitutionalist
Military Movement. Rafael Tomás played such a really important role in the
fight for democracy. Emma Tavares Justo was one of the female leaders in the
fight. She studied Law at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD).
Justo was a real activist. At the beginning of the war, she created a center to
help the injured warriors, because they didn't have any place to go when they
were disabled. All these characters were courageous leaders during the
organization and realization of the war of 1965.
Moreover, Dominican people's reaction in 1965 War was
very active and risky. In the beginning, the main political parties of that time, the Partido
Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD), the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano
(PRSC) and the Movimiento Revolucionario 14 de Junio (MR- 1J4) organized
protests and strikes to show Dominican people's attitude in front of
the government they had. On April 24th, 1965, Dr. José Francisco
Peña Gómez, talking through a radio station, asked Dominican people to get up
with weapons and go to the streets to show that the
Republic was disappointed. On April 25th, 1965, the National Palace
was taken by the democrats. The Colonel Elias Wessin y Wessin ordered to send
combat aircrafts. Simultaneously, war tanks and infantry were sent by earth to
start the machine gunning to the Palace. In other to reattach, weapons were
delivered to civilians. Women, men, adolescents, and young men fought against
the Triunvirato government. Women helped attacking with guns in the streets of
Santo Domingo and young people made bombs. During the War, Dominican people
decided to perform bravely in the fight for democracy.
In summary, the previous political events to 1965 War
were the cause why Dominican people decided to fight for democracy. The main
leaders of this war were very brave people. Furthermore, Dominican people
played a significant role during this civil revolution. Necessary sacrifices
need to be made until people reach the proposed goals. Therefore, braveness,
determination and sacrifice define the feat of April 1965.
AMÍN ABEL HASBÚN
By Emmanuel
Alexandre Jouissance
Through time, many people have longed for
a political change in the Dominican Republic. However, none was highlighted as
the fearless man, Amín Abel Hasbún. He was a brave man who looked for a
transformation for his university and country. He made the difference with his
academic and political career until his death.
First, Amín Abel Hasbún´s Academic life
was brilliant. He studied en La Salle high school and graduated in Math and
Physic Sciences in 1958. He was the unique student of his promotion who
obtained the title of eminent. He
studied in the Engineering and Architecture faculty at Universidad Autonóma de Santo
Domingo, UASD (Autonomous University in Santo Domingo). He earned a degree as a
Civil Engineer in 1960. The Engineering and Architecture Faculty holds his name
until now. He was the brightest of his promotion at UASD.
Second, the political career of Amín Abel
Hasbún was courageous. He became a politician against the President Rafael
Leónidas Trujillo ´s regime in 1960. In 1961, after the President´s death, he
joined the students at UASD to find its autonomy. He was appointed in different
functions like General Secretary of Federación de Estudiantes Dominicanos, FED
(Dominican Students Federation). He was its representative in a meeting in
Hungría. He defended the students’ rights about a referred exam to be accepted.
He was expelled from UASD temporarily. Nonetheless, He never gave up because he
was a determined man. He was still the leader of the students movement. He was reelected General Secretary at that
movement. He participated in a hunger strike against the bad decisions of
university leaders and against the students union. He was arrested the same day
of the coup d’état against Professor Juan Bosch. However, he escaped from the
Police Department. A coincidence was that he got married the day of the
insurrection against Triunvirato on April 24th, 1965 that culminated
in the American intervention on April 28th. He was arrested for
supporting the commemoration of the coup d’état against Professor Juan Bosch.
He wrote some articles while he was in jail with his political companion,
Rafael Francisco Taveras Rosario. Several months later, he went out of jail. He
came back like a leader of Movimiento Popular Dominicano, MPD (Dominican
Popular Movement). The big problem was that he was accused of kidnapping the
American Colonel, Donald J. Crowley in 1970. However, his political party and
his family refused to accept he had done it. Courageously, he decided to live
as a clandestine man. His Political career was intrepid.
Third, Amín Abel Hasbún´s death was
terrible and regrettable. The Dominican secret Police officers broke into his
house and found him with his wife. He was arrested and forced to go out. He was
killed with a shot on his head on Thursday, April 24th, 1970. The
council of UASD declared him son of the Alma
Mater. The Engineering and Architecture faculty bear his name until now to
remember him. His horrific death was really deplorable.
To sum up, Amín Abel Hasbún was an
excellent student. Moreover, he was a super intellectual. But, his early death
was sad. His actions made him an
unforgettable man.
RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO’S DEATH
By Lismeiry Patricia
Muñoz
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s death was something good
for the Dominican Republic. He was one of the worst tyrants in Latin America in
the twentieth century. Anyone could not do or say anything against him. He was
killed because of many things he did during his dictatorship. Trujillo’s
killing brought many changes for the Dominican Republic.
First of all, Trujillo’s murder was caused because of many
bad things he did during his government in the Dominican Republic. He ruled the
country for thirty years. He was a murderer, a robber, a rapist, and he used to
do everything he wanted without any consequences. Dominican people were afraid
of him, but after thirty years of his tyranny, a group of men, in conspiracy
with the United States, decided to kill him. Besides that, people were fed up
of his tyranny. There are more causes of his killing. Some examples are the
Mirabal sisters’ death, the murder of Jesus de Galindez Suarez, the
assassination of the North American pilot, Gerald Murphy, the terrorist attack
against Romulo Betancourt in Venezuela, and the deterioration of his relations
with Catholic Church and the United States. Trujillo was the main responsible
of his own death.
Secondly, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s killing was the crowning
of a conspiracy which wanted to finish with his tyranny. His killing was on
Tuesday, May 30th, 1961 on George Washington Avenue when he was
going to his house in San Cristobal. He was killed by a group of men which took
advantage of the fact that Trujillo’s old son, Ramfis Trujillo, was not in the
Dominican Republic. Some of the men that killed him were
Pedro Livio Cedeño, Amado Garcia, Huascar Tejeda, Salvador Estrella Sadhala,
Antonio Imbert Barreras, Antonio de la Maza, Roberto Pastoriza, Jose Roman
Fernandez, and Juan Tomas Diaz. The night that Trujillo was killed, he had gone to the air base in San
Isidro with Jose Roman, who was in the group of men that wanted to kill him.
That night, there was a vehicle behind Trujillo’s car, while on the route to
his house. Two more cars were waiting for him. At the agreed signal, they shot
him from behind. Trujillo’s driver stopped the car and Trujillo got out of it
and shouted, "I am hurt, but let’s fight". Then, they started to
fight and Trujillo died while Pedro Livio Cedeño got really badly hurt. All the
men who killed Trujillo were murdered by the Intelligence Militar Service agents’,
but at least, they could end Trujillo’s tyranny. Trujillo’s era finished that
night.
The murder of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo brought many changes
for the Dominican Republic. Each of the changes caused by Trujillo’s death
brought other negatives consequences for Dominican people, which took a while
to recover. Despite the end of one of the worst sinister dictatorships of the
twentieth century, the country had to face a bad situation. One consequence of
Trujillo’s death was that Ramfis Trujillo Martinez took power of the Dominican
Republic. However, he and all of Trujillo’s family were expulsed out of the
country. Also, the second invasion of the United States against Dominican
Republic was another consequence. Other consequences were a great economical
crisis in the country, Juan Bosch becoming president in the Dominican Republic,
and son on. Although the country went through a bad time during and after
Trujillo’s dictatorship, its people knew how to recover and let everything that
happened behind.
To
conclude, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s death was caused because of many badly
things he did during his tyranny in the Dominican Republic. The black Tuesday
for Trujillo was May 30th, the day of
his killing. His murder brought lots of consequences for Dominican people. The
day of his killing resulted in the liberty of Dominican people after thirty
years of tyranny.
SECOND
INVASION OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
By Mariany N. Martínez M.
The twentieth century represented
one of the most unsettled historical eras in the Dominican Republic, not only
because of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’ s dictatorship, but also because of foreign oppression. The second invasion of the
United States against the Dominican Republic was a memorable event, in which
Dominican citizens raised their voices and worked together against the
invaders.
Initially, there were some events
that made the second invasion of the United States against the Dominican
Republic possible. Beyond Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s death, the elections held
in 1962, in which Juan Bosch was elected president were held. Seven months
later, he received a coup d’état on September 25th, 1973. A civil
triumvirate imposed by the armed forces preceded his government. On April 24th,
1965, there was a confrontation between two groups, Los Constitucionalistas,
(The Constitutionalists) who wanted to reestablish Juan Bosh’s government, and
the ones who were responsible for the coup d’état, and el Bando Leal, (The Loyal
Group). On April 27th, the United States embassy blamed The
Constitutionalists Movement of being influenced by communism, and as a
consequence of that, they decided to invade the country. The United States
Second Invasion was made under the excuses of protecting their soldiers,
reestablish Dominican constitutional process and thereby, avoid the formation
of a government similar to that of Fidel Castro in Cuba. For these reasons our
county got caught up in another intervention by the United States.
Beyond the causes, there were some
characters that played an important role in second North American intervention.
The most important characters were Juan Bosh, founder of the Partido
Revolucionario Dominicano (Dominican Revolutionary Party), and president of the
Dominican Republic in 1963; Dr. Ramirez de los Santos; Dr. Ramón Tapia and
Manuel Taveras Espaillat, members of the civil triumvirate that ruled the
country in 1963; Manuel Aurelio Tavarez Justo, main leader of the Movimiento
Revolucionario 14 de Junio (June 14th Revolutionary Movement), which fought
against the first triumvirate government; Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó and
Manuel Montes Arache, leaders of The Constitutionalists,
which wanted to reestablish Juan Bosh’s government; Dr. Donal Reid Cabral, president
of the second triumvirate; Lyndon B. Johnson, the United States president, who
ordered to invade the country. During the war process, a significant group of
Dominican women contributed with the patriotic cause. Among their activities
were weapon transporting, looking for food and clothes, taking care of the
wounded, and helping the fighters. Some of them were Picki Lora, Yolanda
Guzman, Emma Tavarez, Magali Pineda and Ivelice Acebedo. Those characters were
the most outstanding in the United States second invasion.
As a result, the consequences of
the United States second invasion were not only reflected in the human costs,
but also in the intangible costs. This incident enhanced the political
fragmentation and the country dependence on the United States. It made the
development of an effective political institution harder, which strengthened
the United States imperialism. Furthermore, this reduced the possibilities of
success of the pacific reforms that many American civil servants wanted to see
in Latin America. Thus, the second North American invasion was a representation
of the imperialistic control of the United States over the Dominican Republic.
In summary, the second North
American invasion was possible thanks to certain events that took place in the
country. Also, this fact cost the country its political stability. Through the
intervention, Dominican citizens proved their courage and loyalty to their
homeland. The second North American intervention ruined the Dominican
Republic’s plans of reaching maturity and political democracy.
PROFESSOR JUAN BOSCH
By
Oralis Laureano Muñoz
Juan
Bosch was an admirable figure in the Dominican Republic. He was a brilliant
person since he was a child. Bosch was passionate for literature. Reading was a
very important part of his life. He was a respectable politician. He was a
person who wanted to serve his home land. He was a great writer, journalist and
a politician. Bosch's books teach the reader a new lesson of life. He died, but
he is alive in Dominican people’s hearts.
First,
Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was an extraordinary child. He was born on June 30TH,
1909 in Rio Verde La Vega. His parents were Emilio Bosch and Angela Gaviño. He
got his name from his grandparents. He was a genius since his early age. He did
not attend to class regularly. He learned his everyday lessons. Bosch began his
studies in Rio Verde, La Vega. His first teacher was Paquita Sanchez who taught
him how to read and how to write. When
he was seven years old, he attended to a school named San Sebastian. It was
there where he completed his primary and high School studies. He was a child
with lots extraordinary skills for life. That is why most of Dominican people
and people around the world admire him.
Also,
Bosch was a very honest man who dedicated most of his life to politics. He
travelled to Cuba and Costa Rica because of his disagreement with Trujillo, but
he was in contact to his politics partners all the time to get information
about the country situation. Once Trujillo was killed, he was ready to come
back to his home land. Bosch won the
presidential elections in 1963, a coup d’etat ended his government after seven
months. He was trying to become the Dominican's president again. He encountered
lots of obstacles in the way. He did not have an opportunity to become citizen
number one again; nevertheless, he is
remembered as one of the best politicians in the Dominican Republic.
Most
important, Juan Bosch is an unforgettable person. He left Dominican people his knowledge
and legacy. His bequest comes from his childhood to the moment when he died on
November 1ST, 2001. He wrote lots of books such as, the novel La Mañosa. As a politician, he made history in the
Dominican Republic. He created the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana (PLD)
and the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) which are the parties with
majority of people. When he was the president of the Dominican Republic on 1962,
he did his best effort to do it well. Unfortunately, his period was too short.
He could not achieve the goals he wanted.
In
summary, Juan Bosch was a very smart boy. He was a great human being. Bosch was
a multifaceted person. If the Dominican Republic had a thousand people like him,
it would be an excellent country and migration would decrease for sure.
COLONEL FRANCISCO ALBERTO CAAMAÑO DEÑÓ
By Perla Michelle Gil Cruz
Colonel Francisco
Alberto Caamaño Deñó was an exceptional man. He was very important to the
Dominican Republic because he dedicated his life to serve others. He did a lot
of important things that helped Dominicans to grow as a society. He helped to
restore the sovereignty of the Dominican Republic by fighting to defended the
country.
Firstly,
Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó’s childhood was unequaled. He was born on June
11th, 1932 in Santo Domingo at Padre Billini Hospital. He was the
third son of Lieutenant General Fausto Caamaño Medina and Enerolisa Deñó. He
enrolled in different schools when he was a child. He first went to school in San
Cristobal, and then at Salesiano and Santo Thomas private schools in the
Capital city of the Dominican Republic. He and his brothers were sent to the
Riverside Military Academy in the United States, and then to La Salle High
School. Most of his Friends were from poor families with whom he practiced
Swimming, Baseball, Volleyball, Boxing and Cockfighting. He developed a strong
and independent character since his childhood. Since he was a child, he showed
his love for this country and his neighbors so much that at the age of eight,
he took food from the pantry of his house to give it to his friends when they
were hungry. These interesting events gave way to the formation of a heroic
man.
Secondly,
Francisco Alberto Caamaño’s main did was leading the 1965 war. He was a
Dominican soldier and politician who served in the constitutional presidency of
the Dominican Republic during the Civil War of 1965. Thanks to the influence of
his family, Caamaño stood out in an efficient and careful vocation of service
to the military institutions of his country. During the last years of Rafael
Leonidas Trujillo´s Era, he commanded the Cascos Blancos (White Helmets) corps
in the National Police. In 1964, he held the headquarters of Radio Patrulla
(Radio Patrol). That same year, he joined the Conspirators Group who, under the
direction of Colonel Fernandez Dominguez, sought to overthrow the regime of
Reid Cabral and restore the constitutional order that disappeared on September
25th, 1963 after the coup which ended the Government of president
Juan Bosch. During the Dominican Civil War that began on April 24th,
1965, Caamaño was one of the leaders in the movement to restore the democratically
elected president Bosch. Then, he emerged as the main hero when he fought
against the military intervention of the United States with the presence of more
than 22,000 marines who invaded the country. Because of these events, on May 3rd,
1965, the national congress elected and appointed Caamaño as constitutional
president of the Dominican Republic, taking possession on May 4th.
On September 3rd, he presented his resignation in a massive act in
Fortaleza Ozama, after the signing of Reconciliation Act that put an end to the
armed conflict and a Provisional Government was constituted, under the
chairmanship of Hector Garcia Godoy.
Thirdly,
Francisco Alberto Caamaño’s death shook Dominican people. First of all, during
the winter of 1973, Caamaño led the landing of a small group of rebels at Playa
Caracoles, near Azua, and then into the mountains of Cordillera Central, with
the purpose of starting a revolution to overthrow Dominican president Joaquin
Balaguer. Then, the guerrilla group suffered several attacks in their march
toward the Capital city when the forces of the regular army intercepted them.
On February 16th, 1973, Caamaño and two of his companions were
arrested. Only three members of the armed expedition managed to survive. The
testimony of one of them certified that Caamaño was captured alive, and then
executed by the government troops. Caamaño’s death shook our country because he
was very important to the Dominican Republic. For that reason, people remember
and honor him.
To
sum up, Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó’s childhood was very different from
others. Furthermore, he commanded the Civil War of 1965. However, his death was
one of the most tragic events in Dominican history. Francis Caamaño was the man
who set his life at stake to defend Dominican rights.
DR. MANUEL AURELIO TAVÁREZ
JUSTO’S LIFE
By Ramona Jazmín Antuna
The Dominican Republic has
many important political characters, Dr. Manuel Aurelio Tavárez Justo is one of
them. Throughout his whole life he became an important man who wanted to change
his country destination. During his
childhood, he received a lot of information about historical events that
affected the country such as the United Stated invasion in 1916, Rafael Leonidas
Trujillo’s regime and others. His ideals
are still alive for many people who would like to have a country as good as he
liked.
Since his childhood, Manuel
Aurelio Tavárez Justo reveled that he wanted to be a politician. He was born in
Montecristi, on January 2nd, in 1931. Friends and relatives used to
call him Manolo. Manuel Francisco Tavárez Ramos and Josefa Justo Rosseau were
his parents. He received elementary school education in the Number One Men School and the Normal Men School in his town. When he
was a child, he loved to talk with farmers from his father´s rice plantation
and they would tell him how the tyrannical government had affected the country
with too many abuses. Due to these actions, Manuel Aurelio Tavárez Justo
decided to be a good student in order to succeed and study at the university.
Manuel Aurelio Tavárez Justo
did not have a long political life. As soon as he became in a lawyer, he began
to struggle against Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, the dictator in the Dominican
Republic at this moment. It is good to know that he got married on 1955. His wife, Minerva Mirabal was his classmate
at the Universidad De Santo Domingo
and she was a lawyer, too. But, she and her sisters Patria and Maria Teresa
were killed by Trujillo´s soldiers one day when they were going to visit their
husbands at Puerto Plata’s jail while
they were in prison. After those deaths, people fought against Trujillo’s
government, and a group of brave men who were tired of his misbehavior killed
him on May 30th, 1961. But Manolo had to continue to carry out clandestine
activities from jail in order to obtain his freedom. After Trujillo´s death,
Manolo was able to go out the jail and work hard in favor of the constitutional
government. On December 20th, in 1962, the country celebrated elections
in which Juan Bosch won, after three decades of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo‘s
dictatorship. In this time, Manolo Tavárez Justo did not participate with his group
called 14 de Junio or 1J4. Then, Juan
Bosch was president and Manolo did not like the way Bosch was governing,
because he did not propose an appropriate plan of agrarian reform to the
country and agricultural production. Juan Bosch received a Coup d’état on September 25th, 1963. Then, a new
temporary government that did not like the actions taken by the Movement 14 de Junio started. Manolo and
his followers took the mountains in order to obtain the presidency and stop
their oppression. When a man wants to succeed in politics,
many cruel things happen. After those events, a new tragedy happened to
him and his friends.
Manuel Aurelio Tavárez
Justo’s ideals have a great importance for Dominican society. After he died,
many Dominicans suffered because many valuable men died with him. The police
promised to protect his life and his friends’ lives too, but instead of this,
military people killed all of them. He was the last one because they wanted to
show Manolo that he was wrong. The International Human Rights considered this
fact as a crime against humanity. Many people remember these words that he
said: ‘’Revolution is not the idea of one
person, revolution is not the idea of one political party, revolution just can
happen if all the citizens get together and struggle for things that the
country really needs’’. With his faithful example the Dominican Republic
learned that there are men and women who need to be remembered and receive
honor because of their way of behaving.
It does not matter how a
person childhood was, but also how many difficult things happened during his or
her political career. Many people can
show others how to behave politically speaking. Sometimes, it has brutal consequences like in
Manolo Aurelio Tavárez Justo’s life, which was not easy at that time. Losing
his wife, sisters in law and friends, escaping to the mountains, suffering many
abuses in jail, and being killed by an opposite political group is just the
price this Dominican politician had to pay for living free of a new dictatorial
government.
Santo
Domingo 2018
