Bosch, (Gavino) Juan Domingo (1909-2001)

Dominican Republic writer and socialist politician, president in 1963. His left-wing Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD; Dominican Revolutionary Party) won a landslide victory in the 1962 elections. In office, he attempted agrarian reform and labour legislation, but was opposed by the USA as a ‘communist sympathizer’, overthrown by the army, and forced into exile. Attempts to restore Bosch to power in 1965 led to civil war and intervention by US Marines. After his return in 1970, he formed the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) in 1973, but his bids for the presidency in 1982, 1986, and 1990 were unsuccessful. His achievement was to establish a democratic political party after three decades of dictatorship.

Bosch was educated at the University of Santo Domingo. In exile from 1937 as a result of his opposition to the dictatorial regime of Rafael Trujillo Molina, he worked as a teacher and writer. He helped form the anti-Trujillo, left-wing PRD in Cuba in 1939, and returned to the Dominican Republic after the assassination of Trujillo in 1961. Standing as the PRD's candidate, Bosch was elected president in December 1962, in the country's first free elections for 38 years. He attracted strong support from workers and peasants but, after seven months in power, was overthrown by a military coup led by Colonel Elías Wessin y Wessin. His supporters failed to restore him to power in 1965, and he lost the 1966 presidential election to Joaquín Balaguer, remaining in exile in Europe until 1970.