Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic

A rebel group in the Dominican Republic planned to overthrow president Horacio Vasquez because he decided that he wanted to ignore the constitution and extend his term. General Rafael Trujillo chose not to fight and held his troops back, instead waiting for the right moment. After Vasquez was forced out of office, Trujillo made himself a new presidential candidate. He even threw together a secret group of police for the people who opposed of him to be tortured and killed which only resulted in him winning the elections by force; he was a brutal dictator before he was even elected president. Trujillo apparently "gave" his presidency over to his brother in 1952, 1957, and to Joaquin Balaguer in 1960, but he still kept ultimate control over the country for about 31 years. He was very harsh to Haitians, because he did not want them darkening the skin color of Dominicans. He placed a massacre on over 20,000 Haitians because they were reported to have been stealing Dominican crops. Trujillo had sent out people to assassinate President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela when he realized that the Venezuelan president had sponsored a quiet plot to get rid of Trujillo. The attempt was a failure. It offended the people of the Organization of American States, so they decided to put economic sanctions on the Dominican Republic. Trujillo was shot down by seven assassins who were also a part of his military on May 30, 1961 which was the end of the Age of Trujillo.

Brazil's Military Government

On April 1, 1964 the army took power and instituted a institutional act to persecute anybody who posed a potential threat to the regime. That was the start of the Brazilian military regime, which lasted until 1985. The very first president of the military regime was Castelo Blanco who ruled until 1967. He put into play the second Institutional Act, he got rid of all political parties. Founded by the military regime ARENA (Alianca Renovedora Nacional) and the MDB (Movimiento Democratico Braseileiro) would be the only political parties in Brazil until 1979. The 20 year military dictatorship was marked by economic growth, fueled by large international loans, the increase of inflation, the dissatisfaction of the people, left-wing guerrilla activities, and the repression of freedom of expression. Despite the repression this was also a period of great cultural growth that saw composers and university professors flourish. unfortunately, many were forced into exile. Protests broke out throughout Brazil, in June of 1968, the 100,000 march took place in the streets of Rio De Janeiro. This was a milestone in the dictatorship but unfortunately enacted Institutional Act 5, further restricting freedom of the press by requiring prior approval of all media content and inspection by authorized agents. The last military President was Joao Figueiredo, who governed from 1979 to 1985. He oversaw the slow transition from military to civilian rule, promising to make the country a democracy. Political prisoners were freed and six new political parties were formed. Towards the end of the dictatorship, civil society's organized large political rallies to demand direct presidential elections. In 1985, the military peacefully handed over power to civilian president Tancredo Neves, Marking the end of 21 years of military presidents.  

Brazil's Military Gov.

Military Government In Brazil 

After the death of Getulio Vargas in 1954 from committing suicide, there was a revolt in leadership as Juscelino Kubitschek took office in 56-60 then replaced by Joao Goulart until the military arrive and fully took control of Brazil over the next 20 years. 

While the military had control over Brazil, they install 5 different types of president to take control of the office.  During the years of Castelo, he inducted 5 Institutional Acts and three of them were... 

• Institutional Act 1: confirmed 1948 Constitution, canceled presidential elections, and cleans Brazil's corruption. 
• Institutional Act 2: reduced the democracy, regulated candidates to run for office, and that presidents could take control of the Supreme Court. 
• Institutional Act 3: ended election of state governors and city mayors. 

 

Later on in the 1967, Brazil instituted certain types of controls to eliminate the economic issues spreading around the nation. 

 



Juan Bosch

Juan Bosch

During Trujillo's campaign, he organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters opposing candidate.Trujillo used the disaster as an excuse to impose martial law on all citizens. He also imposed emergency taxes and even seized the bank accounts of his opposition.  Juan Bosch was an anti-Communist reformer, as was common among Social Democrats. He began a land redistribution program and encouraged strengthening the labor movement. Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba six years earlier. Bosch was elected President in February 1963, after the assassination of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic with an iron fist for more than 30 years.  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. Bosch faced serious problems at the outset of his term. The military considered that its powers were curtailed. On September 25, 1963, the military deposed Bosch. Two years later his followers staged a rebellion in hopes of returning Bosch to power. The United States, fearful of a communist revolution, sent troops to end the revolt.  Bosch was allowed to return, and he reluctantly agreed to take part in the new elections.His term in office was too short for a judgment of his effectiveness as president, but Bosch’s contribution to his country’s political development was a very big importance. Bosch created a genuine political party, forcing the opposition to do the same and enabling his country to have legitimate representative elections.

Juan Bosch

During Trujillo's campaign, he organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters opposing candidate.Trujillo used the disaster as an excuse to impose martial law on all citizens. He also imposed emergency taxes and even seized the bank accounts of his opposition.  Juan Bosch was an anti-Communist reformer, as was common among Social Democrats. He began a land redistribution program and encouraged strengthening the labor movement. Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba six years earlier. Bosch was elected President in February 1963, after the assassination of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic with an iron fist for more than 30 years.  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. Bosch faced serious problems at the outset of his term. The military considered that its powers were curtailed. On September 25, 1963, the military deposed Bosch. Two years later his followers staged a rebellion in hopes of returning Bosch to power. The United States, fearful of a communist revolution, sent troops to end the revolt.  Bosch was allowed to return, and he reluctantly agreed to take part in the new elections.His term in office was too short for a judgment of his effectiveness as president, but Bosch’s contribution to his country’s political development was a very big importance. Bosch created a genuine political party, forcing the opposition to do the same and enabling his country to have legitimate representative elections.

 

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.

Latin America Populist Leader Blog

Getulio Vargas gained and retained support from urban workers because he promised them many things and often went through with his promises. He also lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and extended the votes to women as well. He basically increased women's rights and considerably strengthened the powers of the executive.
Vargas obtained power in his country because he was increasing Brazil politically. He created a legislature system with both state, and social-sector representatives due to a new constitution in 1934.
Getulio Vargas was a dictator, but also the president. He was in power for fifteen years and within that time people began to question him. He started off on a good foot but as he got further in, people were becoming a bit afraid because they didn't want to have a Civil War like Spain had was involved in and it frightened them.