The Dominican Republic: Beyond the Lighthouse"The Dominican Republic is the land Columbus loved best" runs the advertising slogan. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the explorer's arrival on the island of Hispaniola, the government has spent a reported US$40 millions on building a bizarre commemorative lighthouse. In the process, it has bull-dozed the homes of thousands of slumdwellers to clear the memorial site. "Beyond the Lighthouse" looks at a country where extreme poverty exists alongside a booming tourist industry. Where workers from neighbouring Haiti are literally enslaved in an almost bankrupt sugar industry. Where political leaders date back to a dictatorship which ended more than 30 years ago. In its comprehensive analysis of the Dominican Republic's turbulent history and its current political crisis, "Beyond the Lighthouse" exposes the inequality and corruption which lubricate the country's economy. It explores the complex and tragic relations between Dominicans and Haitians and the ambiguous role played by the United States. The author also assesses the popular movement which is challenging a decaying political system and proposing a radical new form of democratic participation. |
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According agriculture Americas Watch areas Balaguer regime Balaguer's Barahona bateyes boom campaign Caribbean caudillo cent cheap labour colonial Columbus communities companies corruption country's countryside coup crisis debt democracy democratic dictatorship dollar domestic Dominican economy Dominican government Dominican Liberation Party Dominican politics Dominican popular movement Dominican Republic Dominican Republic's Donald Reid Cabral economic elections electoral estimated European exports families forces foreign investment government's Gulf & Western Guzmán Haiti Haitian Haitian workers hectares Hispaniola human rights IFZs illegal imported Industrial Free Zones investors Joaquín Balaguer Jorge Blanco Juan Bosch La Romana land Latin America lighthouse Majluta migration military million numbers peasants Peña Gómez pesos political parties popular movement popular organisations PRD government PRD's President presidential programme Puerto Rico reform Reformistas result rural Santiago Santo Domingo sector slum social Spanish tourist trade union traditional Trujillo unemployment urban wages Wessín