Rafael was the leader of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until he was assassinated in 1961. The chapters in the book were either written from the point of view during the Trujillo period or to about thirty years after his assassination. Trujillo was a very powerful dictator but also dangerous and feared by the citizens. He was violent and also abusive, especially to women and Haitian's.
Beli grew up during the time of Trujillo rule. Therefore, she was most effected by him. Trujillo wanted her because she was young and beautiful. Beli's father tried to hide her but he ended up paying the price for his daughters safety. The father and Beli both were tortured. Beli was abused because she was with Trujillo's brother in-law that was married to his sister. Because Gangster was married to his sister, Trujillo did not approve. Trujillo came after the father and had him beaten up because he was protecting his daughter and a lie circulated that he was making jokes about the Dictator.
Parsley Massacre
In October 1937, Trujillo called for a genocide of the Haitian's.He believed in anti-Haitianism and killed thousands of Haitians. His reason for doing so was that he believed the Haitian's were stealing crops and cattle from the Dominican residents living on the border. The parts of the book that were in the Dominican centered mainly around Trujillo. But the Parsley Massacre was hinted at by the characters describing that the Haitians were less equal. In parts of the book, the characters even treated the Haitians unfairly.
"HIP Magazine - Réfléchissons - Dominican Republic and Haiti: One Island, Two Very Different people." HIP Magazine - Réfléchissons - Dominican Republic and Haiti: One Island, Two Very Different people. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
"Parsley Massacre: The Genocide That Still Haunts Haiti-Dominican Relations." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. "Parsley Massacre." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.