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/** reg.carib: 211.0 **/
** Topic: Dominican Republic -USAID IMF Pt1 **
** Written 10:35 AM Jan 11, 1996 by peg:jclancy in cdp:reg.carib **
from: jclancy@peg.apc.org subject: Dominican Republic, IMF? UN? Pt1
Neither Noam Chomsky nor Eduardo Galeano have a kind word to say about US invasion and continued repression of this section of the Caribbean, "which with Puerto Rico, Haiti, Barbados, Leewards and others of the 'Sugar islands' were incorporated one by one into the world market and condemned to sugar until the present. Grown on a grand scale, sugar spreads its blight on a grand scale, and today unemployment and poverty are its permanent guests", states Eduardo.
With a history of claiming hegemony over all of South America, interference in Dominican affairs only increased when uprisings against Spanish genocides of indigenous inhabitants occurred, or US repression became unbearable. In 1916, Marine Corps General Smedley boasted, "I brought light to Dominican Republic for American sugar interests". In 1965 the last US invasion began with 40,000 Marines, CO General Palmer, who counted 4000 enemy dead and who "intended to stay indefintely in view of the reigning confusion". Actually the confusion was the poverty occasioned by the steep drop in sugar prices on the world markets, aided by the repression and injustices by the US approved govt, combined with the US fear of another Cuba- type uprising whereby people fight for the return of their US- stolen property. (most from Ed Galeano).
Noam adds more enlightenment with, "Bloodbaths carried out by counterrevolutionaries are regarded favorably, as they are in the interests of passive population stabilising of the Third World. But US govt and media tend to hide the killings, torture and terror inflicted on the dissidents. This is described as readjustments, or lately, bundled under the term 'structural adjustments', and is true whether the bloodbath destroys the full organisational apparatus of the population base of radical movements -as in Indonesia- or kills more modestly to permit rightist totalitarian rule as in the Dominican Republic.
From 1965, there has been a total, extensive and systematic terror-control by the US in a client-fascist, death squad State system of control of the Dominican people. Their El Nacional newspaper on Dec 30 reported 186 political murders and 30 dis- appearances for the year, -a media understatement when compared with such deaths in Brazil, Guatemala and many other US clients.
Under the imposed structural adjustment programs, peasants (like those of Guatemala Brazil etc) who had no registered deeds to land had the ownership thereof transferred to the usual wealthy oligarchy families, or to US corporations. When the huge supplies of sugar, coffee, tobacco, beef cash crops arrived on the US markets the sale price always collapsed, as planned by imperialist agencies, leaving the peasants destitute. After the unsustainable land degradation policies destroyed the land's ability to produce, the peasants returned to their previous small holdings and tried to repair and renew for a time, before growing sustenance vegetables.
This led to them being jailed, or charged an exhorbitant rent, or forced to work as slaves, prisoners on their own land. They live in barrios, groups of shacks, with open sewer canals. For light or power they have to climb a pole and illegally hook on to power, which was and is very scarce for all workers -not for the wealthy. There is a huge unemployment number, no running water, no social security, very high food costs. A litre of milk in 1970 cost 10 pesos, now 350 pesos. Some obtain a permit to pan for gold which no doubt belongs to the USA.
The IMF and World Bank push money at the pliant US Dictators. They in turn send a large proportion of it (like Marcos in the Phillipines) to Swiss Bank accounts; (when will these be closed?) or to pay their large policeforce and protective armies. Farmland is full of US chemicals. Trees are dying, or being washed away in mudslides down the denuded hillsides. Coca and heroin pay off if lucky, but police adopt US repression orders. Main 'food source' is the US profitable coca-cola "7 up"-very sustaining ?
(cont) JC