Dominican Republic: Beyond the Lighthouse

Product Description "The Dominican Republic is the land Columbus loved best" runs the advertising slogan. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the explorer's arrival on the island of Hispaniola, the government spent a reported US$40 millions on building a bizarre commemorative lighthouse. In the process, it has bull-dozed the homes of thousands of slumdwellers to clear the memorial site. Dominican Republic: Beyond the Lighthouse looks at a country where extreme poverty exists alongside a booming tourist industry. Where workers from neighboring Haiti are literally enslaved in an almost bankrupt sugar industry. Where political leaders date back to a dictatorship which ended more than 30 years ago. In its comprehensive analysis of the Dominican Republic's turbulent history and its current political crisis, Dominican Republic: Beyond the Lighthouse exposes the inequality and corruption which lubricate the country's economy. It explores the complex and tragic relations between Dominicans and Haitians and the ambiguous role played by the United States. The author also assesses the popular movement which is challenging a decaying political system and proposing a radical new form of democratic participation. About the Author Duncan Green is the author of From Poverty to Power and Oxfam GB's Senior Strategic Adviser. He was Oxfam's Head of Research from 2004-12. From Poverty to Power contains the accumulated knowledge of 25 years spent researching and writing about reducing poverty and combating injustice and, as he says, trying to "do justice to the complexity of the world, while still believing there is a story about how it can be changed for the better."