English presentation

Dictator Rafael Leonidas

Trujillo MolinaShanik Pimentel

Mrs. Milos

Period 5

Early LifeBorn October 24, 1891 in San Cristobal,

Dominican Republic.

His back round history remains uncertain. He hired someone to rewrite his family history.

At 16, he got a job as a telegraph operator. He joined a gang and was arrested for forging a check.

After marrying his first wife and having two beautiful daughters in 1916, he traded his crime life for a steady job.

At the end of 1916, he had a job position on a sugar plantation.

Displaying incredible qualities, Trujillo was later promoted to a private policeman on the plantation.

Later on in 1919, the U.S Marines offered him the opportunity to train as an officer for the country’s first police force.

In 1924 he was made second-in-command of guard and one year later he was promoted to commander-in-chief.

DictatorshipIn early 1930,

Trujillo named himself a candidate in the new presidential elections.

He organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters of the opposing candidate. With that, he won the election.

• After a huge hurricane passed by, Trujillo used this as an excuse to seize bank accounts, imposed “emergency taxes”, and impose martial law on all citizens.

He spent six years renovating the city and building several monuments in his own honor.

He named the capital of Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, after “Ciudad Trujillo”.

He took total control of all industries and financial institutions.

Trujillo treated Haitian migrants awfully. In 1937, he organized a massacre of thousand of Haitian immigrants.

He ruled the Dominican Republic for 31 years.

Died in May 30, 1961.

InterviewWhat is your date of birth?

July 23, 1923

What were the basic rules of Trujillo?

Man that worked were his best friends. Every man had to work in agricultural productions. If they didn’t work they would put them to jail or kill them. Everybody was scared of robbing or killing somebody because they feared of Trujillo’s power. Everybody slept in peace, with their doors and windows opened.

Tell me about your mother, did she like Trujillo’s dictatorship?

Of course! Everybody had to accept his reign. If you disagreed, they would kill you.

What happened during the Haitian massacre?

Where I used to live, there were many Haitians hiding from this horrible event. I don’t exactly remember what happened but I do know that 15,000 to 20,000 Haitians were massacred.

Did you have a chance to see Trujillo?

When I got out of school, I was able to see him with my friends. Everybody had to get out or stop what they were doing to see him.

What was he doing in your hometown?

Trujillo was invited to a club with other political officers. He was a very handsome man, ladies were obsessed with him. However, he wanted to know about two beautiful young ladies that he had seen over there. These two young ladies were very poor. He didn’t mind, he just took them with him, and gave them everything they ever wished for.

What do you think about Trujillo’s dictatorship?

He was a good dictator, you only had to respect his orders and his rules.

2 Elections On an Island. So Close, So Far ApartWilda Severe, haitian woman, was

waiting in line to vote for a new president.

. She wanted conditions in Haiti to change and hoped a better life for her baby in the future.

More than five years after U.S restored democratic rule in Haiti, Haitians hoped to have a better life.

However, poverty was getting worst and worst.

Haitians were still looking for a peaceful place to live in.

After American intervention and Trujillo’s dictatorship, Haiti has been destroyed by Duvalier.

Two countries in one island. One said there is a lush green landscape and the other side is deforested soil.

Follow-up

There are many other sources where you can learn more about Trujillo such as:

Trujillo: El Poder Del Jefe (documentary)

In The Time of the Butterflies (book & movie)

The Era of Trujillo (book)

CIA Archives: Rafael Trujillo Interview

Questions1. How long did Trujillo’s dictatorship

last?

2. How did Trujillo name Santo Domingo after he became a dictator?

3. Who offered him a job as a officer?

4. How many Haitians were killed during the massacre?

5. What was his first job?

Answers

1. 31 years

2. Cuidad Trujillo

3. The U.S Marines

4. 15,000 to 20,000 haitians were killed.

5. Telegraph operator.

Sourceshttp://www.biography.com/people/rafae

l-trujillo-39891?page=2

http://www.history.com/topics/rafael-trujillo

http://search.proquest.com/docview/431468113?accountid=10967 Gonzalez, David. "2 Elections on an Island. so Close, so Far Apart." New York Times Jun 04 2000: 0. ProQuest. 8 May 2013 .