Born into a poor family on September 1, 1906, specifically in Villa Navarrete, Santiago province, Dominican Republic, Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo, or as he is also known Joaquín Balaguer, was a great Dominican essayist, writer, statesman, poet, and politician. He was the son of Joaquín Balaguer Lespier, of Puerto Rican origin, and a mother of French origin named Carmen Celia Ricardo Heureaux. He was the only male in a family with several sisters, though he had a half-brother on his father’s side.
Joaquín Balaguer: Career and Beginnings
Joaquín Balaguer began his basic education in the village where he was born and finished it in Santiago de los Caballeros; however, his journalistic activity started as a proofreader. Months later, he became a columnist for the newspaper “La Información” in Santiago de los Caballeros (1924-1928).
In 1930, Joaquín Balaguer was appointed state attorney before the Land Court. That same year, he began his political career before Trujillo took control of the government, was subsequently appointed prosecutor, and then enrolled in the Dominican Party, thus becoming part of the inner circle of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s close collaborators. During the years of the Trujillo dictatorship, Balaguer held various diplomatic and governmental positions.
A Leap to the Presidency: First Presidential Term
As one of his most notable facts, Balaguer was elected president in 1957, since Trujillo arranged for his brother Héctor Bienvenido to be re-elected to the presidency. Given that the Organization of American States (OAS) convinced the dictator that it was not prudent to have a family member as president, Trujillo forced his brother to resign, and Balaguer succeeded him in office, remaining a puppet of Trujillo.
Following Trujillo’s death in 1961, Balaguer remained in power until January 16, 1962, when a military coup d’état led by Pedro Rodríguez Echavarría, the head of the air force, forced him into exile in New York.
