Juan Bosch Gaviño: 1909-2001: Author, Politician

President Gaviño drew up a constitution, undertook land reform by limiting the size of landholdings, and strengthened the rights of agricultural and industrial workers. He also nationalized some businesses, initiated major public works projects, and promoted civil liberties and nationalism. He began routing out corruption in the government and cut government salaries. The right-wing, led by the Roman Catholic Church, was furious. Pro-Cuban communists were unhappy with Gaviño's form of socialism as well. He was widely criticized as politically inexperienced, impractical, and ineffective. Although Gaviño had been promised the full support of the United States, after only seven months in office he was ousted in a right-wing coup by a group of military officers and government officials, linked to Dominican industrialists and businessmen and to the United States. Gaviño went into exile and taught at the University of Puerto Rico.

The revolution in April of 1965, led by Gaviño's military supporters, would have returned him to power and restored the constitution of 1963. However, U. S. President Lyndon Johnson feared that Gaviño would establish another Cuban-like state in the Caribbean. The U. S. Federal Bureau of Investigation surrounded Gaviño's home in Puerto Rico to prevent him from returning to the Dominican Republic. The United States sent 22,000 marines to occupy Santo Domingo and civil war broke out.

Gaviño returned home to run in the elections of June of 1966. However, he did not campaign because of repressive electoral conditions, threats on his life by the military, and American support for his rival Joaquín Balaguer, an ultra-conservative, former ally of Trujillo. Despite widespread allegations of electoral fraud, Gaviño did not contest his defeat.