Changing Scene

To the sound of chanting mobs, the Dominican Republic last week broke violently out of the shell of political repression that has encased it for 31 years. Shouting "Out with the Trujillos,"'.more than 8,000 students, workers and women stormed the government-owned Radio Caribe, sloshed gasoline on the floors and set it ablaze. When police arrested 25 ringleaders, the mob hurled stones. The police fired, and six demonstrators were wounded. A few hours later, street fighting broke out again when a band of Trujillo supporters carrying a huge picture of the slain dictator tried to burn the headquarters of a leftist opposition movement.

Ciudad Trujillo, six weeks after Dictator Trujillo's assassination, is a far different place than it was under the tyrant who renamed it when he came to power in 1930--or so it seems. At midweek, three nervous exiles returned from Puerto Rico to test the government's much-ballyhooed "liberalization." It was their return that set off the demonstrations. To their amazement, Trujillo's heirs--the old man's son Ramfis and his puppet President Joaquin Balaguer--gave them complete freedom. At every speech and rally they were greeted by ever-larger crowds, who were obviously losing their fear of police reprisal. Said one demonstrator last week: "I was frightened, so I got drunk. I came here drunk this morning. But I'm not afraid now."

The government has been working rapidly, desperately, to give itself a new look in the eyes of the world. Political arrests have all but ended, the top cops have been fired, and even the initials of the dread secret police have been changed from SIM to, of all things, C.I.A.--Central Information Agency. Balaguer warned that "violence and destruction will be severely punished," but pledged that the brand-new rights of the opposition to hold political rallies would not be taken away.

It was too early to judge how deep the changes went, but they reached into every phase of national life. The Cabinet was shaken up, army officers were ordered to keep out of politics, and prices of rice, sugar, milk and meat were slashed as much as 30%. Even a few bits and pieces of the billion-dollar Trujillo fortune, such as the family's coffee and cocoa monopolies, were returned to the people. Said one diplomat who a month ago had advocated OAS intervention: "I remain skeptical. But I'm very impressed with the gestures made. I now consider genuine reform a possibility."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.