Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina Governed The Dominican
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Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina governed the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He is one of the most formidable dictators of the twentieth centuries, and the crimes committed by him and his comrades were in innumerable and hedonistic, from torture and rape to mass murder of Haitians. His American ties brought him into power and his manipulation of US officials allowed him to survive for much longer than should have been fathomable.
The name of the book La Fiesta del Chivo reflects that the dictator Trujillo is the whirlpool of the novel, and all the events revolve around him. Trujillo was nicknamed 'El Chivo ' (the goat), which is telling to his character for multiple reasons. The word is often associated…show more content… They wanted to find someone to ‘manipulate’ in a way, to push their anti-communist regime. However, blinded by the threat of the cold war their the plan failed, since as we can see throughout the novel, what the people got in exchange from Trujillo was far worse; genocide, terror, rape and pillage, etc.
Vargas Llosa uses violent language and profanities to express Trujillo’s aggressive behaviour and cruel, bitter attitude towards those around him. He refers to others in racist terms, which reveals from as very early stage his xenophobic mindset and absolute superiority; this is clearly true due to his intolerance for other races and nationalities. His character also uses an abundance of homophobic slurs and seems very concerned by only associating with 'manly ' men. Nearly every woman Trujillo comes across is considered as a sexual object for him to own, in a way that is almost primal. Most females he comes across in the novel are referred to as 'bitch ', showing clear disregard for the opposite sex and even deep rooted anger towards them; we later learn that this is due to his sexual difficulty with Urania which turns into frustration. However, faced with this clear sign of his ageing and decline, Trujillo is unable to confront his own reality, and turns viciously against the closest thing he can blame other than himself: women.
We cannot rely wholly on this depiction of Trujillo as a dictator. First and foremost, La