History
The Dominican Party was founded on 2 August 1931, a year after Trujillo came to power. Soon afterward, it was proclaimed to be the only legal party.
On 16 August 1935, HIN radio station, "The Voice of the Dominican Party" was opened. It was dedicated to serving as media propagator of the activities of the Dominican Party.
It can be observed, viewing the insignia of the Party, that its motto coincided with the initials of Trujillo's name
Rectitud (Righteousness) = Rafael.
Libertad (Freedom) = Leonidas.
Trabajo (Work) = Trujillo.
(RLT) - Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.
Later he added: Moralidad (Morality) = Molina.
Officially, Trujillo was only president from 1930 until 1938 and from 1942 until 1952, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1953 until 1961. However, for 30 years he held the real power as leader of the Dominican Party and Generalissimo of the Dominican Army. In these roles, he was able to see to it that when he was not actually president, the post was held by family members or politicians allied to him: Jacinto Peynado (President from 1938 until 1940), Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha (President from 1940 until 1942), his brother Hector (President from 1952 until 1960) and Joaquin Balaguer (took office as president in 1960; was president at the time of Trujillo's death).
All Dominican citizens had to belong to this party and needed to carry what were called "Los tres golpes", (three strikes):
- Personal Identity Card
- Compulsory Military Service Card
- Dominican Party Membership Card, popularly known as "La Palmita"
Individuals without these certifications could be arrested by the police and incarcerated for a period of perhaps 6 months.
10% of the salaries of public employees was delivered to the Dominican Party.
The party was disbanded shortly after Trujillo's assassination in 1961.
At various times, Trujillo allowed other political parties to coexist. However, this was done only to impress foreign observers that democratization was progressing, and to allow Trujillo to monitor opponents.
Read more about this topic: Dominican Party
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