[Wmshyrga]

I was perhaps too young to say now that I was a Trujillista, but I was brought up in a family that admired Trujillo, so was more than 95% of the population from what I gathered. He was admired by young and old. So did I.

As a matured and somewhat intellectualized adult I can firmly say that Trujillo was by far a better administrator(zero foreign debt, no inflation, the strongest monetary system in America other than the USA) than all presidents who followed him up to today.

He practicly created this nation's institutions and maintained order throughout the system. Everything worked in an orderly fashion. Nothing ever got lost. Our armed forces were not politized and were more professional. Even today, Carretera Duarte built by Trujillo is the greatest construction project ever done in DR. Most of his infrastructure remains as the best built and lasting.(Carretera Duarte was built with airport quality. You could land a jet in it. Today's reconstruction is a piece of black asphalt crap) Duarte bridge built by Trujillo has lasted beyond its years because of Trujillo's will. It has received little maintenance since, yet it stands.)

Take something as simple as garbage. Pick up was daily everywhere. We had neat and clean sweep trucks that would wash and vacuum the streets everyday. Do you see anybody picking up trash today?

Take electricity. Trujillo created the CDE and built it into a highly professional agency. There were never any blackouts, even during hurricanes. The water was flowing in all barrios, cities and towns and he preserved the enviroment so that rivers were healthy. Crime was non-existent, specially car theft, robbery, drugs and holdups. The police and army were not filled with criminal elements like today.

He developed the sugar, cocoa and cofee industry into important export factors only to be destroyed by our present leaders.

Of course you say, well it was a dictatorship. As a young man I never felt the difference. I went to parties, enjoyed girls, we danced rock'nroll, the twist and mashed potatoes, wore Elvis' greasy hair and went to TV shows to dance. I listened to the Worldwide Hit Parade from U.S. radio and had the top 10 hits very cheap. Our parties were as good as any today. We dressed better. We ate better. My school Colegio La Salle was 200% better then than the mickey mouse school it is today. Our State University was a top institution, not the joke it is today. It's all relative my friend.

Since this is getting so lenghty, you can ask me later and I can tell you the origin and what happened to all of the model neighborhoods created by Trujillo that today have become slums thanks to lack of planning and the disarray of today's governments.

TW