Labor, Politics and Industrialization in the Dominican Republic

The purpose of this article is to trace the development of the Dominican labor movement in the context of the economic and political changes that have taken place in the Dominican Republic since the Trujillo dictatorship. A main objective is to show how the subordinated role of the working class in Dominican society has changed little despite the industrialization process initiated in the 1940s and push forward in the late 1960s, and the establishment of a democratic government in 1978. Both under authoritarian and democratic rule, the Dominican labor movement has been a weak political force, largely exluded from the economic and political benefits associated with industrialization and the modernization of the economy and the political system. This paper does not seek to test theories or hypotheses of labor or political development. In this sense, this article reflects more an attempt to discuss the development of the labor movement and labor relations in the Dominican case than an effort to evaluate theories or hypotheses with comparative references. Nonetheless, it draws somewhat freely on other cases for the purpose of comparative illustrations, and suggests themes for future theoretical discussion of a comparative nature.