Juan Bosch

Rafael Trujillo held the position until 1938, when he chose a puppet successor. During his campaign, he organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters of the other component. He won by a landslide. Shortly in his first term, the Dominican Capital was destroyed by a hurricane. He used it as a excuse to impose martial laws on citizens. Also, he imposed "emergency taxes" and even seized the bank accounts of his opposition. His early opponent was Juan Bosch.
Bosch took control after Trujillo was assassinated. Bosch was the first actual well organized political party of the Dominican Republic. Not only did he appeal to the poor, but he also appealed to the middle class and intellectuals. Bosch won a landslide victory in the elections of December 20, 1962. He was the first politician to directly address the peasantry, a heretofore ignored group that gave him an overwhelming majority in the election. Bosch not only appealed to the poor but also cut across class lines to win the favour of the middle class and intellectuals.  The United States was at odds with Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba and leery of the slightest hint of leftist politics in the Caribbean. After a two-year exile in Puerto Rico, Bosch was allowed to return, and he reluctantly agreed to take part in the new elections. After 31 years of dictatorship, Bosch created a genuine political party, forcing the opposition to do the same and enabling his country to have legitimate representative elections.