Ramón Cáceres

Ramón Cáceres

Ramón Cáceres Vásquez (born December 15, 1866 in Moca , † November 19, 1911 in Santo Domingo ) was a Dominican politician and President of the Dominican Republic .

biography

He had to join his father Manuel Altagracia Cáceres' cattle farm at an early age, as he was murdered as a political opponent at the instigation of Ulises Heureaux in 1878. Later he began to take part alongside his cousin Horacio Vásquez in political activities against dictator Lilís Heureaux, whom he finally shot with his own hands on July 26, 1899, together with Jacobo de Lara. During the presidency of Juan Isidro Jiménez he was governor of the province of Santiago before he was elected vice-president in the government of President Carlos Felipe Morales on May 31, 1904 . As President Morales grew closer to the United States , Cáceres sat next to General Desiderio Arias at the head of a protest movement that finally led to the declaration of the removal of Morales on December 29, 1905.

A fortnight later, on January 12, 1906, he took over the office of President of the Dominican Republic as his successor . During his reign he was initially exposed to armed uprisings led by General Arias by Demetrio Rodríguez, which accused him mainly of representing the interests of his cousin and former President Vásquez. In fact, there were financial agreements with the US that he had previously massively criticized. After negotiations on 3 May 1907, the Dominican-American agreement which paid a 20-million- US dollar - credit led to the payment of the national debt. In return, the United States was given control over Dominican customs revenue as well as control and regulation of fiscal policy. In addition, during his presidency, Cáceres pushed through the abolition of the office of vice-president and the extension of the president's term of office from four to six years. In addition, the law on railways was passed , the army was reorganized and the constitution was amended . The destruction of the livestock that he initiated and the depopulation of some regions led to guerrilla acts directed against him , so that he used increasingly brutal methods to maintain internal peace and public order.

He was the only candidate to emerge victorious in the elections of May 30, 1908, and took his oath of office on July 1, 1908 . His second term of office was marked by the construction of the railway line from Moca via Santiago de los Caballeros to Puerto Plata , the construction of telegraph connections as well as roads and stops, but also schools. Eventually he managed to restore administrative control of the port of San Pedro de Macorís . In carrying out the infrastructure measures , he received mainly support from the USA. When the government of Cáceres found itself exposed to increasing protests from underground organizations in 1911, which also found support from the farmers, he tried to counteract this by introducing laws on the tax exemption of agricultural products (Franquicias Agrícolas) and on the political participation of rural community members to end. Despite these efforts, however, there were further protests by the now united supporters of Horacio Vásquez (Horacista) and the former President Juan Isidro Jiménez (Jiminista), which culminated in the shooting of Cáceres on November 19, 1911 in a stable in Santo Domingo found. A short time later he died in the US embassy because of his gunshot wounds .

Web links

• Wkidominicana: Ramón Cáceres ( Memento of April 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Descendencias presidenciales: Ramón Cáceres

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "GEN. HEUREAUX IS ASSASSINATED; President of San Domingo Slain by Ramon Caceres. MURDERER BEING PURSUED Situation in the Republic Is at Present Tranquil. A Number of Previous Attempts to Kill Heureaux - He Had Become Unpopular with Many Dominicans", NEW YORK TIMES July 27, 1899
2. ↑ "SANTO DOMINGAN PRESIDENT SLAIN; Ramon Caceres, Shot in a Stable, Dies in the American Legation There", NEW YORK TIMES November 21, 1911

predecessor	Office	successor
Carlos Felipe Morales	President of the Dominican Republic 1906 - 1911	Eladio Victoria