The Empty Showcase: American Aid to the Dominical Republic during the Presidency of Juan Bosch

Abstract

This paper is not e biography of the Juan Bosch regime, nor a historical chronicle of what took pIace, but an examination of American aid and desire, both intended and actual, and the underlying reasons for what occurred. Within the realm of this paper, many important questions must be answered. The United States had loaned or given the Dominican Republic under the Consejo (ruling junta that immediately preceded Bosch's regime) nearly fifty million dollars. On the other hand, the United States had loaned or given Bosch virtually nothing until one month before his regime was overthrown by a rightist military coup d'etat. Indeed, these figures seem to show that our once pronounced dedication to the Bosch regime had turned into apathy and neglect. Why? A major purpose of the United States policy in the Dominlcan Republic was to promote harmonious links between their nationalism end our cold-war objectives. America hoped to bring order out of disorder, simplicity out of diversity, and precision out of chaos.