Trujillo Bad Leaders

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina governed the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He is one of the most formidable dictators of the twentieth centuries, and the crimes committed by him and his comrades were in innumerable and hedonistic, from torture and rape to mass murder of Haitians. His American ties brought him into power and his manipulation of US officials allowed him to survive for much longer than should have been fathomable.

Dictators throughout history have known to have bad reputations and personalities. Some say that dictators have heartless in their crimes and cruelty to humanity. Dictators get addicted to the power, money and respect. Money, power and respect are equally important to them. They will do whatever necessary to have it all. Idi Amin and Rafael Trujillo are two leaders we can compare in this situation. Rafael Trujillo was more merciful than Idi Amin.

Just like the spies in the book, people who seemed to just be servants reported Alvarez’s father for revolting against Trujillo and they had to flee to avoid persecution. Many people felt like the oppressive dictatorship had been in place for too long and they would start revolutions and fight to overthrow the dictator. Alvarez wrote, “A national underground is forming. Everyone and everything has a codename. Manolo is Enriquillo, after the great Taino chieftain, and Minerva, of course, is Mariposa. If I were to say tennis shoes, you’d know we were talking about ammunition. The pineapples for the picnic are the grenades. The goat must die for us to eat at the picnic.” (142) Alvarez writings about the revolutions and the fights to overthrow

He held power in the Julio-Claudian Dynasty from 41-54 A.D. He got to hold power since he was real young because, his father passed away when he was one years old. His brother was succumbed under some suspicious events. So, since he was the only guy left in his family all of the power was passed onto him.

He claimed that he was “purging corruption” and was offering jobs to citizens through a “rotation of office.” that, and in choosing replacements he relied exclusively on recommendations from his own people. Creating the spoils system of partisan manipulation of the patronage

Both these stories show the power Trujillo had on his people. Trujillo wanted to make his presence felt everywhere in the Dominican Republic. This is shown when Diaz states

Trujillo believes he is above the law and can do anything because he is able to constantly oppress his people. He now does things, such as abusing women, because his constant oppression has made people afraid to act against him. When he abuses

By applying the social power lens to the Monkey King situation we see at first he is selfish and believes he is the best but soon realizes he is the same as everyone else no better no

Rafael Trujillo was the Dominican Republic’s dictator for over 30 years. His rule over the country for 3 decades is a long story to be told. Trujillo is one to think of when remembering the country’s history. He was a man to be feared, keeping control of the country during his two terms of presidency and then as a military land owner exercising authoritarian control. Trujillo was known for his strong anti-black beliefs. He proclaimed the Dominican Republic a white country, only accepting our Indian heritage. For this

He curbed town meetings, imposed restrictions on courts, revoked land titles, taxed people without consent, enforced Navigation Laws, suppressed smuggling

On October 24, 1891, Rafael Trujillo was born in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. He lived with his lower-middle-class parents and 10 siblings. During his childhood, Trujillo’s education consisted of schools that were held in different villagers’ homes. He was only taught basic principles in these schools. Rafael Trujillo got his first job when he was sixteen years old but subsequently lost his job after he joined a gang and committed various crimes, including forging checks. Trujillo eventually gave up his life of crime after he married his first wife, Aminta Ledesima, and they had two daughters (Biography.com).

One such example of this is accentuated by him opportunism and likeness to a chameleon; he would do almost anything to attain power, not having scruples or paying attention to ideals (although he harnessed those of the people to gain power!) :

wanted to be leader and thought he was the best for the job. Already he had

Alvarez shows many different ways a dictator affects both politics and daily life. People were afraid to say Trujillo’s name in an uncomplimentary way in fear of the consequences if someone were to hear and it get back to him. They were also afraid of being murdered in public for even threatening him. Trujillo was a harsh man so when Minerva says,” and I can see my hand in an endless slow motion rise---a mind all its own and come down on the astonished, made up face,”(she slaps him)(Alvarez 100) later in the book his revenge is for her to not be able to get her licence. Cruel right, but that is what happened when you messed with Trujillo. She also shows the sisters religions throughout the book, mainly Patria’s. Patria is the most religious sister and goes through the most

A successful monarchy relies upon a stable leader who is concerned with the satisfaction of those he rules over. Henry Bolingbroke the IV in Shakespeare's Henry the IV Part I follows a trend set by his predecessor in Richard II of self-indulgence and neglect of his kingdom. These leaders worry about the possibility of losing their kingdom or their soldiers to other nobles who were also concerned more with obtaining a higher position rather than governing. The king must also be wary of his own life, something that was once revered and guarded closely by other nobles. Wars once fought for gaining or protecting land are overshadowed by personal battles fighting for the position of king.