Both Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Báez have…

Both Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Báez have now passed from the scene.

They had helped create a nation where violence prevails in the quest for power, where economic growth and financial stability fall victim to the seemingly endless political contest, and where foreign interests still perceive parts of the national territory as available to the highest bidder.

This divisive, chaotic situation invites the emergence of an able military leader and a shrewd, despotic political leader who will dominate the country over a seventeen-year period.