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Paper on Corruption in the Dominican Republic , Political Science

“What is the single greatest challenge the DR currently faces? Why? How did that challenge develop? What should that country do to meet or resolve the challenge?

You may draw on a wide range of evidence. Once again, it may be anything from human rights reports, foreign policy documents, international relations articles, policy memos, journalism, documentaries, even protest art, etc. etc. Be sure to cite your sources clearly.

Your paper should be double-spaced in Times New Roman size 12 font, with a one-inch margin on all sides. Please number your pages and use Chicago style footnote citations. It should be no longer than 10 pages and no shorter than 8 pages.”

I am providing my research with links as well as an in-depth presentation slide show I created. Write the paper on either Corruption or Anti-Haitian Policies.

IR367/PO360: INTRODUCTION TO LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Fall 2020

RESEARCH PAPER AND GROUP PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT

These are two assignments about the same country. You have all been assigned to
groups. The first assignment is a group assignment—the presentation, which you
prepare and give together. The second assignment is an individual assignment—the
research paper, which you write by yourself.

The due dates are rolling throughout the semester. Check the syllabus for your
country’s presentation and paper due date.

1. GROUP PRESENTATION:

You have been assigned to country groups. Your presentation should be on the
following issues:

What are the challenges that country currently faces? You can bring in current
events from political upheaval to corruption to economic downturn to drug
trafficking to criminalization of women’s movements or environmental or indigenous
movements…The possibilities are endless. There are a lot of challenges out there!

I would prefer a GROUP PRESENTATION. You should share responsibilities. It
is best if everyone in the groups speaks, at least a little bit. One option is to choose a
lot of challenges and have each speaker present on one challenge. Another option is
to drill deep on one or two key issues, and have different people present different
aspects of those issues, or different evidence for why they are important.

The presentations will be graded on clarity, argument, and presentation of evidence.
This is a group assignment that will receive a group grade. So, the same grade for all
students in the same group.

During the presentation, please tell the other students (and me) WHERE you found
your evidence. Evidence you may draw on: human rights reports, foreign policy
documents, international relations articles, policy memos, journalism, documentaries,
even protest art, etc. etc.

**You are welcome to use powerpoint slides, but not required to do so. If you want
to use powerpoint, you can do so by having one group member share the screen for
the whole class—will be easier this way, with just one slide deck.**

Your presentation will be followed by questions and a class-wide discussion of that
country.

2. RESEARCH PAPER

Your research paper will be on the same country as your presentation.

Here, you will develop a more specific argument to answer the following questions:

What is the single greatest challenge that country currently faces? Why? How
did that challenge develop? What should that country do to meet or resolve the
challenge?

You may draw on a wide range of evidence. Once again, it may be anything from
human rights reports, foreign policy documents, international relations articles, policy
memos, journalism, documentaries, even protest art, etc. etc. Be sure to cite your
sources clearly.

Your paper should be double-spaced in Times New Roman size 12 font, with a
one-inch margin on all sides. Please number your pages and use Chicago style
footnote citations. It should be no longer than 10 pages and no shorter than 8 pages.

This is an individual assignment that will receive an individual grade. It is fine with me
if you write a paper on the same challenge as another member (or several) in your
country group. You would be shocked at how differently different papers on the same
topic turn out—that is not a problem.

DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Corruption

Drug Trafficking

Poverty

Lack of Public Funding for Education

Anti-Haitian Policies

Gender Violence & Discrimination Towards Dominican Women

CORRUPTION
Karla & Adelaine 01

Corruption Perceptions Index

0  Highly Corrupt

The CPI ranks countries and territories on perceived public sector
corruption

100
100 
Very
Clean

137/180

The DR ranks
137th out of
180 countries

Source: Transparency International*

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/results/dom

5
Source: Transparency International*

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/results/dom

Key Factors of Corruption

Lack of
Impartiality
Widespread impunity for high ranking
officials and the elite

Influence of the PLD

The PLD has a strong influence over
the judiciary and loyalty to the PLD is
very strong across different sectors
of the government

These two key
factors are one of
many that drive
corruption in the
DR

El Partido de
la Liberación
Dominicana

7Lack of Impartiality & Influence of the PLD

Media
Journalists reporting on corruption often face intimidation, violence, death threats,

legal and regulatory pressure

Judiciary
Many senior civil
servants are political
appointees with
strong loyalty to the
PLD

PLD Influence Buys Power
The higher one ranks

within the PLD, the more
influence they have over

the courts

Source: Freedom House

https://freedomhouse.org/country/dominican-republic/freedom-world/20

Influence of the PLD

Accusations
Many members of
the PLD were
accused of
embezzlement
concerning the
Plan Eventual
Minimo de Empleo
PEME

Few Prosecutions
Out of those
accused very few
were prosecuted

Dismissal of Cases
Members in the PEME
embezzlement scandal were
pardoned

Victor Diaz Rua, Sec. of Finance of
the PLD, was accused of acts of
corruption and money laundering…
yet the Fourth Criminal Chamber of
the National District ordered the
definitive closure of the criminal
complaints against him

01 02 03

Corruption
Cases

Salvador Jorge Blanco

President of the Dominican
Republic from 1982 to 1986  first
Dominican President to be
prospected of corruption

Under his administration, the
government spending dwindle
export revenues and the
Dominican economy nosedived

Condemned to 23 years of
imprisonment and a large fine but
after a series of appeals and legal
manoeuvres, he only spent two
months in jail and in 2001, the
supreme court ruled the initial
verdict null and void

As economic
conditions
worsened, it was
alleged Blanco and
his allies were
tempted by the
self-enrichment
offered by corrupt
arms contracts

In the past 20 years, this is the corruption case with the
greatest magnitude to be investigated in the Dominican

Republic because of the number of accused, the level of
their influence and the amounts of money involved.”

—Jean Alain Rodríguez,
Dominican Attorney General

Who
Former President Danilo Medina
Former Public Works Minister
Victor Diaz Rua
Trade Minister Temistocles Montas
Ex-Senate Leader Andrés Bautista
And many others…

Why
For politicians
Funding election campaigns
Increase political influence
For Odebrecht
Secure public works contracts
Monetary gain
Influence over politicians

What
Over a dozen current and
former high ranking
officials in the DR were
arrested for receiving $92
million dollars in bribes all
paid by Odebrecht, a
Brazilian construction
company with ties all over
Latin America, to gain
public works contracts.Where

All across Latin America
and a couple countries in
Africa

When
Circa 20162017

The 5 W’s of the Odebrecht Scandal 12

Sources:
Reuters,
AP News,
Transparency
International

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominican-corruption-idUSKBN18P1S7

https://apnews.com/article/5c787d1570c24f2191e2d088bbe2ebba

https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/punta-catalina-power-corruption-dominican-republic

$92,000,000
Over a dozen current and former public

officials in the DR were arrested for
receiving $92 million dollars in bribes
from Odebrecht, but not all of them

were prosecuted/convicted

Punta Catalina, a coal-fired power plant was developed to help eliminate the DR’s power outages
and expensive electricity rates yet even after 6 years of building it the plant has not done much
to achieve its mission.

The previous Dominican Government planned to sell a 50% stake in the plant but it announced
their plan to sell would be put on hold due to the COVID19 pandemic and will resume after the
July 2020 elections. However, the new government has not shown any indication of selling the
plant.

Construction of Punta Catalina was approved by then President Medina and Odebrecht was the
company in charge. Odebrecht made secret transactions consisting of 62 payments of US$39.5
million towards Punta Catalina’s contract, effectively putting the plant in the middle of the DR
Odebrecht scandal.

Bribes connected to Punta Catalina’s contract allegedly “fueled Medina’s presidential re-election
campaign.”

16Punta Catalina

Sources: ICIJ & Transparency International

Leak Exposes Millions of Dollars in New Payments In Odebrecht Cash-for-Contracts Scandal

https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/punta-catalina-power-corruption-dominican-republic

—Carlos Pimentel,
Executive Director of

Participación Ciudadana

There is a system of complicity in
the country for the enrichment of
a minority, in the public and
private sectors, based on the
impoverishment of the majority.
That is what the Odebrecht case
has left.”

Senator
Felix
Bautista

Profiting off of
Humanitarian Efforts

U.S Ban

Administrative
Corruption

Companies riddled
with corruption

Bautista’s Corruption

0201 03

Sources: Miami Herald & Transparency International

In his time as Head of the
State Works Supervisory
Engineers Office

After the 2010 Earthquake
that hit Haiti

Bautista owned companies
failed to meet commitments
and accused of corruption

Trump administration blocked
assets within U.S. Jurisdiction &
banned U.S. citizens from doing
business with him

https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article213050284.html

https://www.transparency.org/en/press/the-justice-system-in-the-dominican-republic-needs-to-show-independence-fro

● Dismissed the charges
against Bautista in March
2015 for “lack of evidence”
after being accused of
money laundering and
embezzlement of over a $100
million

Response

The Public

Dominican
Supreme Court

WHAT WAS THE
RESPONSE
TOWARDS
BAUTISTA’S
CORRUPTION?

● National outcry
● Street protests
● “Crisis of faith” in the

country’s judiciary*
● Strongly criticized by the

Attorney General

*direct
quote

Source: InSight Crime

https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/stalled-corruption-case-in-dominican-republic-sparks-outrage/

Looking Ahead

● Very strong anti-corruption message
centering on vertical accountability

● Commitment to pursuing past
government corruption cases as well
as investigating any new cases of
corruption.

● President Abinader suspended,
without salary, 36 public officials that
failed to declare their sworn statement
of assets and patrimony until they
comply with the law.

President Luis Abinader and his War on Corruption

02
DRUG
TRAFFICKING
Lea & Alexandra

Is Drug Trafficking Even a Problem?

Yes
At least according to
President Trump

How?
The DR was identified as
primarily a narcotic transit
country by the President
in September 2020.

Why?
1 Geographic

location
2 Commercial

Factors

3 Economic

Factors

Source: Dominican Today

DR as a Narcotic Transit Country: Location 24

There has been an
expansion of coca
production in Colombia

Drug intercepts by
Dominican authorities
have increased from 10
tons in 2014, to 13 tons
in 2015, to 20 tons in
2016

Coca Production Corruption

The Numbers
Colombia (producer) →
Venezuela (middleman) →
US & Europe (destination)

The collapse of the
Venezuelan state has led to
corruption.

In Summary

Sources: El Caribe, Globalamericans.org, US State Government, El Nuevo Herald

DR As A Narcotic Transit Country: DTOs

● DTO Drug Trafficking Networks
● DR → Puerto Rico is 81 miles
● Why does Puerto Rico matter?

1) US territory → less controls
2) Smugglers are inside US customs barriers

● Similar case with French territories (ie. not just a U.S. problem)

Sources: Globalamericans.org, Insight Crime, United Nations

Other Factors that have led the DR to be in the Drug Trade

● CAFTADR free trade agreement → DR economy tied to US economy
– This has lead to drug gangs such as the Trinitarios in NY

● Facilitating Factors
1) Biggest container Ports
2) Tourism
3) Banking

● Balloon Effect
– Increased US investment in drug war in Central America
– Venezuela becomes regional hub

Sources: Globalamericans.org, Insight Crime, ICE gov

How Are The Drugs Moved In And Out Of The Country? 24

1. Go-fast boats
2. Modified container

ships

Less common

Maritime Transport Already there!

Air

1. Facility found in San
Cristobal in 2013

2. Three facilities found in
Santiago & Puerto Plata
in 2017

Sources: Globalamericans.org, El Mundo

Crime & Violence
15 homicides per 100,000
people, is relatively low
compared to other transit
countries such as the
Northern Triangle of Central
America or Venezuela

Growth of Local Drug Markets and Gangs for Distribution
It is increasingly common for drug gangs to recruit
children as young as 8 and 10 years of age

Compensation
distributed in drugs
rather than cash

Corruption
In 2015, a leading Dominican
prosecutor claimed that the
Dominican police were
involved in 90 percent of
organized crime cases in the
country.

Problems That Arise From Drug Trafficking

Sources: Globalamericans.org, Insight Crime, Huffpost & Narconon

Increase of Drug Abuse
in the Country

http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/faux-pax-a-look-at-dominican-republic-plunging-murder-rate

https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/90-percent-police-organized-crime-dominican-republic/

The Government’s Role

● Increase in interception:
○ Airspace
○ Maritime

● The Dominican government’s national counternarcotics directorate:
○ DNCD → Main organization against large international drug

trafficking

● National police, known as DICAN → micro trafficking
● Financial Intelligence Unit which passed a new law against money

laundering in June 2017 → helps track illegal money

Source: Globalamericans.org

http://dncd.mil.do/

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/politica/nueva-ley-de-lavado-un-instrumento-para-frenar-dinero-ilicito-en-negocios-BY7247355

POVERTY
Martha & Faith 03

● Poverty is the state of not having
enough material possessions or
income for a person’s basic
needs.

● Poverty is a state or condition in
which a person lacks the financial
resources and essentials for a
minimum standard of living.

33Poverty

Poverty Absolute
Poverty

● Absolute poverty is the
complete lack of the means
necessary to meet basic
personal needs, such as
food, clothing, and shelter.

Sachs, J. 2005. The end of poverty: economic possibilities for our
time.

Poverty: Jeffrey Sachs
1. THE POVERTY TRAP

a) In cases of extreme poverty, the poor do not
have the ability to get out of extreme poverty
alone without help

● Human capital is very low. Natural
capital is depleted.

b) They are too poor to save for the future and
thereby accumulate the capital per person that
could pull them out of their current state

● They have the lowest saving rate
b/c they are using their income to
merely stay alive

34
Sachs, J. 2005. The end of poverty:
economic possibilities for our time.

2. THE FISCAL TRAP
a. The government might lack the financial

means to provide public goods due to:
1. The population itself may be

impoverished so taxation
wouldn’t work

2. The government may be inept,
corrupt, or incapacitated

3. The government may be
carrying a tremendous load of
debt

Human capital is the stock of habits, knowledge, social
and personality attributes embodied in the ability to
perform labour so as to produce economic value. Human
capital is unique and differs from any other capital.
I.e. Education, Health, Creativity

Yes, the economy has been growing but the
government does not provide more than 4% of
GDP spending on education.

In a system where education is the road to the
middle class, creating economic barriers to
education perpetuates a system of institutional
inequality.

Economy & Poverty:

● Percentage of poverty might not decrease even
though GNP and GNP per capita increases, or
there is economic development.

Economy 35
The Dominican Republic is one of the most popular
international tourist destinations in the Caribbean, yet
poverty and inequality remain major issues here.

One of the fastest growing economies in the
Latin America and the Caribbean regions (LAC

● Tourism, remittances, foreign direct investment,
mining revenues, free-trade zones, and
telecommunications have helped make the DR one
of the fastest-growing economies in LAC

○ Remittances: Money sent back to one’s
home country as hard currency; allowing
home LDCs to get hard currency

In 2019, poverty rate at national poverty
line for Dominican Republic was

21 %

.
Poverty rate at national poverty line of
Dominican Republic fell gradually from
32.1 % in 2000 to 21 % in 2019.

21 %

Statistics: Top 10% vs. Lowest 10% 36
https://knoema.com/atlas/Dominican-Repu
blic/Poverty-rate-at-national-poverty-line

“In 2018, income share held by highest 10% for
Dominican Republic was 35.2 %. Though
Dominican Republic income share held by highest
10% fluctuated substantially in recent years, it
tended to decrease through 1997  2018 period
ending at 35.2 % in 2018.”

“In 2018, income share held by lowest 10% for
Dominican Republic was 2.3 %. Income share
held by lowest 10% of Dominican Republic
increased from 1.3 % in 1997 to 2.3 % in 2018
growing at an average annual rate of 3.51%.”

35.2
%

2.3%

https://knoema.com/atlas/Dominican-Republic/Poverty-rate-at-national-poverty-line

Statistics: Rural vs Urban 37
https://knoema.com/atlas/Dominican-Repu
blic/Poverty-rate-at-national-poverty-line

“In 2013, rural poverty rate for Dominican Republic
was 51.2 %. Rural poverty rate of Dominican
Republic fell gradually from 60 % in 2004 to 51.2 %
in 2013.”

“In 2013, urban poverty rate for Dominican
Republic was 36.3 %. Urban poverty rate of
Dominican Republic fell gradually from 44.4 %
in 2004 to 36.3 % in 2013.”

51.2
%

36.3
%

https://knoema.com/atlas/Dominican-Republic/Poverty-rate-at-national-poverty-line

● Most of the poverty in the Dominican
Republic is focused in rural areas which is
hidden from tourism, which brings the
most income to the country

● The Rural Poverty rate is significantly
greater than the Urban Poverty rate and
greater than the National Poverty Rate

● Main industry is tourism → rural areas get
overlooked when it comes to government
investments

● Rural communities depend on the
Agriculture and Farming Industries

Rural Poverty & Agriculture Low Agricultural Productivity
38

● The government has not done much to
address the Low-Agricultural Productivity

Why is the productivity so low?

Think

back to Human Capital
➔ Farmers do not own enough land to

generate income off of agriculture
➔ Rural Farmers do not have access to

technology that increase
crop-production due to financial
circumstances

➔ Natural Disasters Constantly threaten
rural areas

➔ Much of the rural infrastructure has
collapsed due to natural disasters

➔ President Danilo Medina has said
little about his plans to increase
agricultural production*

https://borgenproject.org/poverty-dominican-republic/#:~:text=More%20tha
n%20a%20third%20of,as%20the%20urban%20poverty%20rate

Think

Poverty in the Dominican Republic

● “Families in the Dominican Republic, often struggle with basic needs, such as food, shelter, and
clothing. Without access to clean water and sanitation for waste, serious health issues arise, yet
quality healthcare is hard to find or afford in rural parts of the Dominican Republic.”

● The health disparities for rural areas include:
○ Higher infant mortality rate
○ A greater percentage of children younger than 5 years old with acute malnutrition or chronic

malnutrition
○ A lower percentage of children 12 to 23 months of age who had been vaccinated
○ Conditions such as gastrointestinal ailments, anemia, and hypertension were diagnosed more

frequently
● Lack of healthcare facilities as well as lack of quality healthcare facilities is seen as underlying

cause for disparities
○ Individuals in rural Dominican communities travel twice as long to reach public healthcare

facilities, and four times as long to reach private healthcare facilities
○ Health professionals are more likely to live and work in more affluent urban areas where they

are able to earn a higher income. Medical care in rural areas is usually provided by interns
and new health professionals with minimal field experience, who leave once they have
completed their required time

○ Prominent mortality under-reporting and misclassification of diseases

39Poverty: Health Systems

https://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/1956

– “As an island nation, the Dominican Republic also faces the
threat of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and
earthquakes. The increasing number of natural disasters in
the region puts the already-strained agricultural sector at
risk, and the government has traditionally invested more in
disaster response rather than disaster prevention that
could save both money and lives.”

– “The most common natural disasters are hurricanes, flash
floods, high winds, and mudslides. However, Dominicans in
the Santo Domingo area have faced recent drought
conditions, including many neighborhoods in the
northwestern and southeastern parts of the capital region.”

– “Not only do natural disasters destroy homes and displace
people, they also damage agricultural crops and destroy
sewage systems. This leads to reduced food production
and contaminated water sources that put residents at risk
of cholera and other serious diseases.”

– “The water crisis in the Dominican Republic is largely due
to the fact that water systems have been destroyed by
natural disasters and contaminated with bacteria.”

40Natural Disasters

● The Dominican government has experienced substantial economic growth in
recent years, which can help expand the middle class and promote a more
profitable environment for local businesses.

● Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations around the world are working in the
Dominican Republic to build houses, create schools, and provide healthcare to
those who need it most.

● Improvements to Infrastructure would significantly help reduce the effects of
natural disaster because rural areas are essentially left to fend for themselves
in their recovery

● Additionally, the health crisis in rural areas would need to be aided through
more accessible healthcare facilities which could be made possible through
infrastructure

41
Efforts to Reduce the Dominican Republic Poverty Rate

Sachs, J. 2005. The end of poverty: economic possibilities for our time.

https://crosscatholic.org/blogs/2019/08/the-issue-of-dominican-republic-poverty-and-how-you-can-hel
p/

https://borgenproject.org/poverty-dominican-republic/#:~:text=More%20than%20a%20third%20of,as%20
the%20urban%20poverty%20rate.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/dominicanrepublic/overview#1

Causes of Poverty in the Dominican Republic

https://www.25project.org/countries/dominican-republic/country-overview/

https://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/19

42Citations

Poverty in the Dominican Republic & How to Help

Poverty in the Dominican Republic

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/dominicanrepublic/overview#1

Causes of Poverty in the Dominican Republic

https://www.25project.org/countries/dominican-republic/country-overview/

https://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/1956

LACK OF
PUBLIC FUNDING
FOR EDUCATION

Jaliana and Alexander

● Nivel Inicial
○ ages 36, compulsory

● Nivel Basico
○ ages 614, compulsory, but

not strictly enforced

● Nivel Medio
○ ages 1418, not compulsory

● Public School Teacher Salary
○ $177 USD/month

The Dominican Education System 44

Problems in the Classroom 45

Student teacher ratios in
classes of 500 are 78 to 1.

● Education in the Dominican Republic accounts for only 2%
of the GDP, when the law requires 4%.

● In 1989, education accounted for only 6.6% of total
government spending.

● 90% literacy rate, but many students enter university at a
6th grade reading level

● 1 in 4 girls dropout due to pregnancy
● Private and International schools outperform public

schools
● Both private and public schools require uniforms, adding to

the financial strain on families.

Problems in Education 46

Academic Success of Students 47

4 in 10 students
drop out before
the eighth grade…

● President Danilo Medina staked his reputation on education reform. The country
spent 4 percent of its GDP  almost 2 billion USD in 2014 for the first time.

○ Update infrastructure
○ Hire more teachers
○ Expand preschool enrollment
○ Improve literacy
○ Extend the school day

● In 2018, the World Bank approved $100 million in funding to support the DR’s
Education Pact.

○ The funding helped provide technology, stronger statistical systems, and
stronger risk management.

● Teachers have also protested and temporarily shut down schools to demand
a 100-percent salary increase over the past few years, but they’ve gained
little ground.

Reforms 49

● Solidaridad is a conditional cash transfer (CCT program in the Dominican
Republic that provides cash transfers to poor households if they invest
more in education, health, and nutrition.
○ $75/month if they comply with school enrollment and attendance, as well as

regular health check-ups for all children in the household
○ Currently provided to 247,000 households

● Even though the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology was
created in 2002, spending in R&D has been extremely low.
○ 0.3% of GDP for 2018

● President Luis Abinader has promised to upgrade technology for teachers
and students as they adapt to virtual learning due to COVID19, but getting
the laptops and training halted the start of the school year.

Reforms Continued 50

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/09/30/dominican-republic-improve-quality-edu
cation

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/388/Dominican-Republic-EDUCATIONALSYSTEMOVERVIE
W.html

https://www.justlanded.com/english/Dominican-Republic/Dominican-Republic-Guide/Education/Overview

https://cotni.org/news/dominican-republic/2007/11/14/origin-dominican-batey

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370952

https://www.bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report-DOM2020.html#pos9

https://dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2018/12/14/dominican-republic-to-s-ratchet-efforts-in-improvin
g-learning/

https://blogs.worldbank.org/latinamerica/what-are-the-main-results-pisa-2018-latin-america

51Citations

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/09/30/dominican-republic-improve-quality-education

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/388/Dominican-Republic-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html

https://www.justlanded.com/english/Dominican-Republic/Dominican-Republic-Guide/Education/Overview

https://cotni.org/news/dominican-republic/2007/11/14/origin-dominican-batey

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370952

https://www.bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report-DOM-2020.html#pos9

Dominican Republic to ratchet efforts in improving learning

https://blogs.worldbank.org/latinamerica/what-are-the-main-results-pisa-2018-latin-america

ANTI-HAITIAN
POLICIES

Tara & Lurenne 05

In the past years, the Dominican
Republic has implemented policies,

standards, and legal rulings that have
denationalized and eroded the rights

of Dominicans of Haitian descent.

History Of Haitians In The Dominican Republic 54

Estimate of 500,000 to 1
million Haitians living in the
Dominican Republic, out of
the country’s 10.4 million
population.

Many Dominicans with
Haitian parents do not
have birth certificates or
national ID cards.

Largest Minority Haitian Labor & The Economy

Lack of Identification
Spike in migration of Haitians across
the border after Haiti was
devastated by the 2010 earthquake.

Haitian labor is vital to Dominican
economic growth. In agricultural and
construction sectors, Haitians and
Haitian-descended Dominicans
represent 64% of the labor supply.

2010 Earthquake

Sources: OECD, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

—UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency

The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons established the legal definition
of stateless persons as individuals who are not

considered citizens or nationals under the
operation of the laws of any country.

Timeline Of Anti-Haitian Policies Prior To 2013 Ruling

Immigration Act
Defined any non-resident as
a person in transit. Children
born to non-residents in
national territory would not
be Dominican citizens .

Resolution 12-2007
Central Electoral Board
introduces procedures to
suspend or keep the birth
certificates of people
whose parents did not have
proof of a residency permit

New Constitution is drafted
Redefines Dominican
Nationality, officially
excluding children born to
illegal residents.

2004 2007 2010

Sources: NYT, UNHCR

RULING
Dominicans born to undocumented
immigrant parents did not meet the
criteria for citizenship.

CASE
Filed by Juliana Deguis Pierre, a
Dominican of Haitian descent, after
she was denied a national ID card.

IMPLICATIONS
Since the ruling was retroactively
applied to anyone born between 1929
to 2007, around 200,000 Dominicans of
Haitian descent were essentially
denationalized overnight.

LA SENTENCIA: The 2013 Constitutional Ruling That Triggered The Crisis

PHOTO FROM REPEATING ISLAND

Sources: NYT, The Atlantic

Policies After LA SENTENCIA

Amind International criticism, the
Dominican government passed the
Plan de Regularización de Extranjeros
de la República Dominicana.

According to the UN Refugee
Agency, as of this year only over
26,000 individuals have been able to
secure recognition of their nationality
under this naturalization plan.

2014

2020

PHOTO BY TATIANA FERNANDEZ/AP (Vice)

Sources: UNHCR, Georgetown Political Database of the Americas, Minority Rights Group International

Impact Of Denationalization

● Arbitrary deportation based on racial/ethnic profiling
○ Immigration authorities disproportionately target

people they perceive are of Haitian descent
○ Checkpoints along the border and on highways

● Civil Genocide
○ Dominicans who have been unable to re-acquire their

citizenship through the Naturalization law are unable
to continue their education, access healthcare,
legally work, or travel within the nation.

● Constant state of fear of deportation, violence, and
discrimination.

ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES / REUTERS

Sources: Minority Rights Group International, NYT, Reconoci.do

Domestic Response
Movements protesting
against La Sentencia versus
Dominican Nationalist
supporting the ruling.

International Support for
Reform and Activism
Marcha Verde
We Are All Dominicans
Reconoci.do

Government reforms
Reforms needed to
reduce corruption,
bribery, and
discrimination in order to
improve efficiency.

Abinidar’s Presidency
Possibility that a new
presidency will bring
reform and new efforts
to re-naturalization.

International Reaction
Accusations of human rights
abuses from organizations
such as the United Nations
and those of the Dominican
Diaspora.

Responses And Possible Solutions

Photo Credit: Tony SavinoSources: Reconoci.do, Miami Herald, Latin American Perspectives, UNHCR

Citations 61
Background on Haitians in the Dominican Republic:
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5042&context=etd)
https://ezproxy.bu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2193793064%3Faccountid%3D96

Plan de Regularización de Extranjeros de la República Dominicana:

UNHCR https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2020/9/5f6b31884/unhcr-welcomes-dominican-republic-move-citizenship.html

Haiti migration patterns after 2010 Earthquake:
http://www.nanseninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/DP_Receiving_Haitian_Migrants_in_the_Context_of_the_2010_ear
thquake

Junot Diaz on La Sentencia: https://repeatingislands.com/2013/12/05/junot-diaz-on-la-sentencia/

Reconoci.do: https://anthrosource-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.bu.edu/doi/full/10.1111/traa.12170

La Sentencia & Juliana Deguis Pierre:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/dominican-republic-erased-birthright-citizenship/575527/

2010 Constitution: https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/DomRep/vigente.html

Immigration Act, Resolution 122007, La Sentencia and their implications:
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1031416/download

https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5042&context=etd

https://ezproxy.bu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2193793064%3Faccountid%3D96

https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2020/9/5f6b31884/unhcr-welcomes-dominican-republic-move-citizenship.html

http://www.nanseninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/DP_Receiving_Haitian_Migrants_in_the_Context_of_the_2010_earthquake

Junot Díaz on “la sentencia”

https://anthrosource-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.bu.edu/doi/full/10.1111/traa.12170

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/dominican-republic-erased-birthright-citizenship/575527/

https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/DomRep/vigente.html

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1031416/download

GENDER VIOLENCE &
DISCRIMINATION
TOWARDS DOMINICAN
WOMEN

Coralie, Ember, & Amy

63Discrimination In Culture

● Pervades many communities in
the Dominican Republic.

● “

Machismo

” = ultra-masculinity

● Machismo has come to be
regarded as a natural attribute
of “tough men” (Al Jazeera)

○ Seen as a way of life,
wherein men dominate
women with
unprovoked aggression
and violence.

Violence against women
● Every two days, sometimes each

day, a woman is killed in an act
of violence.

● For an island nation of nearly 10
million, more than one thousand
women have been killed in the
past 5 years.

○ In the majority of cases,
perpetrators were intimate
partners of victims.

● “It is common in our community
to hit women. It is a tradition,”
says Lourdes, a 60 y/o woman.
(Al Jazeera)

Machismo

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2012/7/16/the-cost-of-machismo-on-honeymoon-island

64Discrimination In Statistics (Latin America Institute, 2017)

According to the Center
for Gender Studies:
● A 2016 study concluded that

femicide decreased in all Latin
American countries, except D.R.

● The Dominican penal code was changed to
ensure gender-based violence is treated as
a punishable crime, but violence is still on
the rise.

● Activists say that “the country does not
have an effective legal framework to protect
women.”

According to the//
health ministry:

● 35% of Dominican women have been
subjected to violence by their partners

● 26% reported they had at least one experience
of physical violence

● Women whose partners were more educated
were less likely to suffer domestic violence

According to the Attorney
General’s office:

● 1,078 femicides were recorded in the D.R. between
2005 and 2015

○ More than half were committed by current
or former partners.

○ 1 in 10 Dominican women have suffered
sexual violence at some point.

○ In 80% of rape cases, the perpetrator was
the victim’s partner or former partner

●
●

According to the UN
Development Program:

● 2 out of 5 women killed in the D.R.
are victims of domestic violence

● 88 femicides were reported in the
D.R. in 2016, and 83 from Jan. to
Oct. of 2017

● The D.R. has one of the highest
femicide rates in the region

Giron, Crosby. “Violence Against Women on the Rise in the Dominican Republic.” NotiCen:
Central American & Caribbean Affairs 21.45 2017 2. Web.

Legal Issues For Violence Against Women

● In 2010, 62,000 cases of violence against women were reported in
the Dominican Republic.

○ Just 4% of these went on legal trial.

● A vast number of cases are not reported.

● Women are often coerced into retracting their statements by their
perpetrators, or they simply give up in frustration at getting no
further in pursuit of justice.

● Penal Code proposed by the government in 2013 “represented a
backward step in combating violence against women and girls”.

○ Did not include the crime of gender-based violence
○ Reduced the penalties for certain forms of violence against

women and girls.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Council on Hemispheric Affairs

The Resolution
● Adopted by the UN General Assembly on Dec. 17, 1999

○ defined “violence against women” as meaning “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, shether occurring in public or in private life.”

● Celebrated annually on November 25th
○ July 1981 → At the first Feminist Encounter of Latin America and the Caribbean held in Colombia, the

date was officially chosen to commemorate the lives of the Mirabal sisters who were assassinated by
Rafael Trujillo in 1960.

The Mirabal Sisters
● Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa, and Dede: 4 sisters from a rural middle class family persecuted by Trujillo, and

as a result became political activists
○ Established the 14th of June Movement to overthrow the Trujillo regime

■ “A psychological war of fear, humiliation, abuse and sexual harassment became an instrument
used by Trujillo against women such as Minerva and their families. It constituted a manifestation
of absolute power. Gender-based violence thus permeated the political realm.”

○ Known around the D.R. by their code name, “las mariposas”
○ The sisters became an international symbol against gender-based violence.

● March 8, 1997, International Women’s Day
○ An obelisk that Trujillo had built to honor himself was transformed into a tribute to the Mirabal sisters.

Robinson, Nancy P. “Origins of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: The Caribbean Contribution.” Caribbean Studies 34.2 2006 14161. Web.

66International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women

Questions?

Agenda Items
Finalize Topic Order

a) Corruption
b) Drug Trafficking
c) Poverty
d) Lack of Public Funding for Education
e) Haiti
f) Gender Violence and Discrimination towards both Haitian immigrants and native

Dominicans

1) Drug Trafficking

“The expansion of coca production in Colombia and the cooptation of the Venezuelan state by
criminal elements have increased the volume of drugs passing through the Dominican Republic.
Drug intercepts by Dominican authorities have increased from 10 tons in 2014, to 13 tons in
2015 to 20 tons in 2016”

“With respect to drugs, the Dominican Republic is primarily a transit country for cocaine and
other substances originating in Colombia, sometimes passing through Venezuela, and bound for
the United States and Europe, with some temporary storage of drugs in the country as well.
Nonetheless, a number of laboratories have also been discovered in the south of the country,
including a large facility found in San Cristobal in 2013, and, in May 2017, the discovery of
three laboratories in the north for the production of synthetic drugs, in Santiago and Puerto
Plata.”

https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/07/dominican-republic-security-challenges-government-resp
onses-recommendations-u-s/

2) Lack of public funding for education
Broad swaths of youth are involved in crime as lacking economic opportunity forces many to go
through illegal means.

● Lack of job opportunities/ unemployment
● Problems with Education System/Education Reform in the DR

○ Dominican law mandates that four percent of the GDP must be spent on
education, but only about two percent of the GDP is invested in education in the
Dominican Republic.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/05/16/presidente-danilo-medina-llama-explorar-nuevos-modelos-lucha-contra-narcotrafico

https://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2016/vol1/253257.htm

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/article21930201.html

http://www.elmundo.es/america/2013/09/01/noticias/1378063613.html

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/05/03/autoridades-desmantelan-tres-laboratorios-drogas-santiago-puerto-plata

https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/07/dominican-republic-security-challenges-government-responses-recommendations-u-s/

○ These reforms are beginning to occur, with the World Bank announcing in
September of 2015 that the global financial institution will invest $50 million over
five years to assist the Dominican Republic government’s education reforms.

○ No compulsory secondary education in the DR

3) Corruption

International indicators of the DR’s competitiveness and transparency continue to erode.
Foreign investors cite a lack of clear, standardized rules by which to compete and a lack of
enforcement of existing rules. Complaints include allegations of widespread corruption, requests
for bribes, delays in government payments, weak intellectual property rights enforcement,
bureaucratic hurdles, slow and sometimes biased judicial processes, non-standard procedures in
customs valuation of imported goods, as well as product misclassification as a means of negating
CAFTA-DR benefits and increasing customs revenues. Weak land tenure laws and government
expropriations continue to be a problem. (Trade)

Political Corruption in DR:

● The Dominican Republic has a poor record on corruption, ranking 137th out of 180
countries on Transparency International’s corruption index

○ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/4/dominican-republic-vote-to-go-ahead-d
espite-coronavirus-threat

● Look into Trujillo and the corruption during his dictatorship
● Salvador Jorge Blanco – first Dominican president to be prospected of corruption

○ “Jorge Blanco’s administration promised much in the way of integrity and
economic redistribution, but delivered neither. Almost as soon as he entered the
presidential palace, world sugar prices collapsed, the Dominican economy
nosedived, and government spending exceeded dwindling export revenues.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/27/salvador-jorge-blanco-obituary

○ “As economic conditions worsened, it was alleged that Blanco and his allies were
tempted by the self-enrichment offered by corrupt arms contracts.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/first-president-to-be-prosecuted-for-corruption-
in-a-country-famous-for-it-20110107-19iv0.html

○ “Jorge Blanco was tried in absentia – and again on television – in November
1988, and condemned to 23 years’ imprisonment and a large fine. A long series of
appeals and legal manoeuvres ensued, which meant that he spent only two months
in jail, until in 2001 the supreme court ruled the initial verdict null and void.”
(The Guardian)

https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/dominican-republic-market-challenges

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/4/dominican-republic-vote-to-go-ahead-despite-coronavirus-threat

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/27/salvador-jorge-blanco-obituary

https://www.smh.com.au/national/first-president-to-be-prosecuted-for-corruption-in-a-country-famous-for-it-20110107-19iv0.html

https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/dominican-republic-market-challenges

OUTLINE

– DR Corruption Perceptions Index
– Trujillo and Salvador Jorge Blanco
– Lack of credibility within Criminal Justice system
– Widespread impunity for high ranking officials and elites
– Corruption in el Partido de la Liberación Dominicana or PLD
– Case samples:

– Odebrecht Scandal
– Senator Felix Bautista

– How the justice system has handled corruption cases
– Looking ahead: what the government is doing now concerning corruption and

how the new President Luis Abinader is handling anti-corruption

4) Haiti
● “For many Dominicans, Haiti continues to be, directly or indirectly, the nations’ principal

security challenge. Although international press coverage of the Dominican Republic’s
treatment of Haitian immigrants has been strongly negative, many Dominicans feel that
the international community does not adequately acknowledge how the sustained
humanitarian crisis, criminality and weak governance in Haiti has burdened the
Dominican Republic.”
https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/07/dominican-republic-security-challenges-governm
ent-responses-recommendations-u-s/

Systemic racism/Xenophobia/Refugees and Asylum-seekers
● Not sure if this should be part of or separate from topic of Haiti
● Antihaitianismo and hate crimes against Haitians
● Stateless people – Requiring Dominicans of Haitian descent to carry a cédula

○ Since 2015, Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent have been “voluntarily
deporting” themselves out of fear of being forcibly removed

● Trujillo’s legacy
● https://www.coha.org/antihaitianismo-systemic-xenophobia-and-racism-in-the-dominican

-republic/#_edn32
● “By October 2019, there were 30,000 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the

Dominican Republic, of whom 184 had lodged claims for asylum,” very few people have
been granted asylum

○ Lack of international protection for Venezuelan refugees
○ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/dominican-republic/report-domin

ican-republic/

https://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/editorial/cuidado-con-haiti-MC7488097

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominican-haiti-immigration-idUSKCN0Q327820150729

The Dominican Republic’s Tortured Relationship With Its Haitian Minority

https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/07/dominican-republic-security-challenges-government-responses-recommendations-u-s/

Antihaitianismo: Systemic Xenophobia and Racism in the Dominican Republic

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/dominican-republic/report-dominican-republic/

5) Gender Violence and Discrimination towards both Haitian immigrants and native

Dominicans
Violence against women, specifically domestic violence is a prominant issue in DR.

● “Nadie se mete entre problemas de marido y mujer.”
● The Dominican Republic has seen a rise in violence against women amid the pandemic.

○ “In the Dominican Republic, the violence service of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs,
Línea Mujer, received 619 calls during the first 25 days of quarantine.”

■ https://reliefweb.int/report/world/surge-violence-against-girls-and-women-latin-a
merica-and-caribbean

● “I hate to say the following, but it makes sense that we have that amount of femicides in the
Dominican Republic when you see that we have a culture that objectifies women, where violence
is uber normalized in romantic relationships, and you see in the nuclear family, machismo is
upheld,” Goico said. “It makes sense, and of course we’re going to have crazy murder rates and
femicides in a country where being a woman is a second-class citizen, and if you’re a Black
woman, if you’re a trans woman, odds are against you.”

○ https://www.latinousa.org/2019/11/25/marchofbutterflies/
● Murder of Anibel Gonzalez in September 2019 reignited protests calling for a response to

gender-based violence
○ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/dominican-republic/report-dominican-re

public/
● Violence against cisgender and transgender women sex workers

○ Structural barriers for reporting violence committed by the police
○ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/dominican-republic/report-dominican-re

public/
Strict Abortion Laws
The Dominican Republic has a deeply machismo culture and is one of the few countries in the
world which has a complete ban on abortion. The procedure is illegal in all cases, including
when the life of the woman or girl is at risk. (Independent)

● “In late 2014, the Dominican Republic decriminalized abortion in cases of rape, incest, certain
fetal malformations, and when the pregnancy threatens the life of the woman. In December, the
high court ruled that the reform was unconstitutional and reinstated an absolute criminal
prohibition on abortion dating from the 19th century.”

○ https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/dominican-republic

6) Crime/Poverty (these could be separated) (Faith) (Martha)

– Martha’s notes on Poverty are in a separate doc for now until complete
–

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/surge-violence-against-girls-and-women-latin-america-and-caribbean

In Dominican Republic, Thousands Join ‘March Of The Butterflies’ Protest Against Gender Violence

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/dominican-republic/report-dominican-republic/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/dominican-republic

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