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106-663: Opposition: (89) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Congress of the Dominican Republic ( Spanish : Congreso de la República Dominicana ) is the bicameral legislature of the government of the Dominican Republic , consisting of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies . Both senators and deputies are chosen through direct election. There are no term limits for either chamber. As provided by
212-537: A caudillo . His regime of terror claimed 11,000 victims who were either tortured or forcibly disappeared and killed. Nevertheless, Balaguer was also considered to be instrumental in the liberalization of the Dominican government, and his time as leader of the Dominican Republic saw major changes such as legalized political activities, surprise army promotions and demotions, promoting health and education improvements and instituting modest land reforms. Balaguer
318-660: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Joaqu%C3%ADn Balaguer Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo (1 September 1906 – 14 July 2002)
424-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
530-414: A crowd at Independence Park. After the second US intervention, and after the new constitutional government elected in 1966, under the presidency of Joaquín Balaguer , Congress made the longest constitutional reform of all constitutional reforms. This Constitution was amended in 1994 to prohibit presidential re-election and separate congressional and presidential elections (which had been held together since
636-424: A distinct authoritarian cast, constitutional guarantees notwithstanding. Political opponents were jailed and sometimes killed (by one estimate, 3,000 people with center-left leanings were murdered ), and opposition newspapers were occasionally seized. Despite his authoritarian methods, Balaguer had far less power than Trujillo, and his rule was considerably milder. In 1978 , Balaguer sought another term. Inflation
742-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
848-559: A driving force throughout his country's democratic development. In 1966 he led democracy's return to the Dominican Republic after years of political uncertainty and turmoil. Indeed, he is, in many ways, the father of Dominican democracy." Jimmy Carter said "President Balaguer has set an example for all leaders in this nation in changing his own country and his own people away from a former totalitarian government to one of increasingly pure democracy." A metro station in Santo Domingo
954-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
1060-521: A joint session to be declare as National Assembly the plenary most have more than half of the members of each chamber present. Its decisions shall be taken by an absolute majority of votes, except when it is convened to amend the Constitution. The National Assembly or the Joint session of both chambers are governed by its rules of organization and operation. In both cases the presidency will be assume by
1166-673: A law degree from the University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and studied for a brief period at the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne. As a youth, Balaguer wrote of the awe with which he was struck by his father's fellow countryman, the Harvard graduate and political leader from Puerto Rico, Pedro Albizu . Despite the profound differences regarding their ethical and world visions, Albizu 's fiery and charismatic rhetoric captured Balaguer's imagination and his recollection of this occasion
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#17327731863261272-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1378-494: A means to reward his political supporters with lucrative public works contracts. The economy also improved considerably. Balaguer was narrowly reelected in the elections of 1990 , defeating his old foe Juan Bosch by only 22,000 votes out of 1.9 million votes cast amid charges of fraud. For the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus ' landing in the Americas and the visit of Pope John Paul II , Balaguer spent millions on
1484-740: A military group seeking to restore the Constitution of 1963 and replace the president Bosch entered the National Palace and made capitulate to Triumvirate, after which the newly restored Congress was sworn in as provisional president to the President of the Chamber of Deputies Jose Rafael Molina Ureña. However, President Urena had to resign two days later and applied for asylum. At this, the Congress appointed provisional president Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó , who took office on May 4 in front of
1590-492: A more equitable distribution of wealth. At the same time, Ramfis' reforms went too far for the hard-line trujillistas led by his own uncles, Héctor and José Arismendi Trujillo. As the OAS continued economic sanctions imposed for Trujillo's attempted murder of Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt , Ramfis warned that the country could descend into civil war between left and right. Although official and unofficial repression of
1696-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1802-474: A restoration of parts of historic, colonial Santo Domingo , and on sprucing up the parts of the city to be transversed by the pope, including the construction of a grand new avenue lined with modern housing blocks. More controversial was that Balaguer spent two hundred million US dollars on the construction of a massive ten-story Columbus Lighthouse . Completed in 1992, the Columbus Lighthouse
1908-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
2014-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
2120-620: A vote of censure against them and recommend their dismissal from the office. President of the Republic or the corresponding hierarchical superior for breach of responsibility. When the Chamber and the Senate celebrate they meetings together is denominated National Assembly, the Assembly it's usually call for the Speech of Accountability and to celebrate the commemorative or protocolary acts. To
2226-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
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#17327731863262332-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2438-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2544-575: Is named after him. He is one of the central characters in Mario Vargas Llosa 's novel The Feast of the Goat . Balaguer was a prolific author, who wrote many books for contemporary Dominican literature. His most famous work was his only narrative novel, called "Los Carpinteros". The most controversial of his works is perhaps "Memorias de un Cortesano en la Era de Trujillo" , in which Balaguer, shielded by his political power admitted knowing
2650-732: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
2756-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
2862-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
2968-552: The Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ;
3074-547: The Social Christian Reformist Party two years earlier. Balaguer ran again in the 1986 elections , and took advantage of a split in the PRD and an unpopular austerity program to win the presidency again after an eight-year absence. By that time, he was 80 years old and almost completely blind after living with glaucoma for many years. Balaguer's third presidency was considerably more liberal than
3180-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
3286-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
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3392-608: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to
3498-457: The "Twelve Years" had been. He was more tolerant of opposition parties and human rights. He undertook massive infrastructure projects, such as the construction of highways, bridges, schools, housing projects and hospitals. Following the style of Trujillo, these highly visible projects were much publicized over government-controlled media and through grandiose public ceremonies designed to enhance Balaguer's popularity. The projects were also used as
3604-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
3710-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
3816-465: The Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on
3922-619: The Chamber of Account, the Ministries and the Ombudsman. The legislative chambers, as well as the permanent and special commissions which they constitute, may invite ministers, vice ministers, directors and other civil servants of the Public Administration , as well as any natural or legal person, to provide pertinent information on matters of Which are empowered. The reluctance of the persons cited to appear or to render
4028-598: The Constitution was amended to change the name of the Conservative Senate Council. Later, in December of the same year, a new revision to the Constitution was made to merge the two chambers in a Consultant Senate, being the first period in the history of the Dominican Republic in which the legislature was governed by a unicameral Congress. The bicameral system was again replaced in November 1865 after
4134-481: The Dominican Constitution, each of the 178 members of the Chamber of Deputies represents a district and serves a four-year term. Chamber seats are apportioned among the states by population. The 32 Senators serve staggered four-year terms. Each province has one senator, regardless of population. The Constitution vests all legislative power in the Congress. The Chamber and Senate are equal partners in
4240-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
4346-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
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4452-746: The OAS agreed to lift the economic sanctions. The OAS agreed on November 14 but Ramfis' uncles returned to the country the following day, hoping to lead a military coup. Ramfis resigned and went into exile on November 17 and rumours circulated that Air Force general Fernando Arturo Sánchez Otero would support pro-Castro revolutionaries. The United States now sent a small fleet of ships and 1,800 marines to patrol Dominican waters. The US consul informed Balaguer that these forces stood ready to intervene at his request, and would be supported by forces from Venezuela and Colombia. Air Force general Pedro Rafael Ramón Rodríguez Echavarría announced his support for Balaguer and bombed pro-Trujillo forces. The Trujillo brothers again fled
4558-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
4664-525: The Palace of Congress in Santo Domingo . The term Congress actually refers to a particular meeting of the national legislature, reckoned according to the terms of representatives. Congressional elections are held in even numbered years divisible by four. Suffrage is universal and compulsory for all Dominican citizens aged over 18 or under that age if married. The Congress of the Dominican Republic
4770-592: The President of the Senate; The vice president, the President of the Chamber of Deputies and the secretariat, the secretaries of each chamber. Its responsibility of the National Assembly: The latest election for the Congress was in 2020, as part of the general election . The following table shows the composition of the Chamber of Deputies at the start of the most recent legislative period (2020–2024) ignoring changes that may have occurred since then due to party transfers. The following table shows
4876-480: The Restoration of the Republic, separating the Congress in a House of Representatives and House of Representatives . Between 1866 and 1907, the Dominican Republic is disputed between bicameral and unicameral, eliminating the Senate in the constitutional amendment of 1866, restoring it in 1878, and returning it to eliminate in 1880. The Senate reappeared as house of Congress in the Constitution of 1908, from which
4982-543: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
5088-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
5194-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
5300-478: The age of 95. He was a polarizing figure who could incite as much hate as love from the population. Despite his image as a standard Latin American caudillo, Balaguer at the same time developed a legacy as a great reformer. His land reform policies were praised for successfully distributing land to peasants and earned him support from the country's rural population. Ronald Reagan said "[...] Balaguer has been
5406-435: The bicameral system remained constant. During the first US intervention, Congress was dissolved not before elected president Francisco Henriquez y Carvajal . After the restoration of national sovereignty, Congress was again restored, and in 1927 the election of legislators were allowed by direct vote. With the rise of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo to power, the Congress became a cover for his political ambitions. In 1935, Trujillo
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#17327731863265512-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
5618-548: The composition of the Chamber of Deputies at the start of the most recent legislative period (2020–2024) ignoring changes that may have occurred since then due to party transfers. Spanish language This is an accepted version of this page Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on
5724-497: The congressional and presidential elections, which are exceptionally extended the term of elected legislators in 2010 from 4 to 6 years until 2016. Congress exercises its review function by means of the Speech of Accountability and inquests. The Speech of Accountability it is the responsibility of the President of the Republic to report annually, before Congress, on the budgetary, financial and management administration that occurred in
5830-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
5936-529: The count resumed. Guzmán won, marking the first defeat of Balaguer's political career. When he left office that year, it marked the first time in the Dominican Republic's history that an incumbent president peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition. In the 1982 elections , the PRD's Salvador Jorge Blanco defeated Balaguer, who had merged his party with the Social Christian Revolutionary Party to form
6042-555: The country on November 20 and Echavarría became Secretary of Armed Forces . The Union Civica Nacional (UCN) called a national strike and demanded the formation of a provisional government under their leader, Viriato Fiallo , with elections to be delayed until 1964. The military were vehemently against the UCN taking power and Echaverría proposed a continuation of the Balaguer regime until the elections. The American consul mediated between
6148-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
6254-404: The election. He won around 23% of the votes in the election , with PLD candidate Danilo Medina just barely nosing him out for a spot in the runoff with PRD candidate Hipólito Mejía , who came just a few thousand votes short of outright victory. Balaguer stated that he himself personally accepted Mejía's election, but hinted that his supporters would split their votes between Mejía and Medina in
6360-462: The enmities surviving from the Trujillo regime and from the 1965 civil war , but political murders continued to be frequent during his administration. He succeeded in partially rehabilitating the public finances, which were in a chaotic state, and pushed through a modest program of economic development. He was easily reelected in 1970 against fragmented opposition and won again in 1974 after changing
6466-537: The following day. On 16 January, Balaguer resigned and Echaverría staged a military coup d'état and arrested the other members of the council. With the US supporting the UCN and a new national strike beginning immediately, Echaverría was arrested by other officers two days later. The Council of State was restored under the leadership of Rafael Bonnelly and Balaguer went into exile in New York and Puerto Rico . Juan Bosch
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#17327731863266572-450: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
6678-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
6784-454: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
6890-450: The internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
6996-423: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
7102-431: The legislative process (legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers); however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate is empowered to approve treaties and presidential appointments. Revenue-raising bills must originate in the Chamber of Deputies, which also has the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate has the sole power to try impeachment cases. The Congress meets in
7208-402: The majority of members Present, at the request of at least three legislators, as well as to obtain information from other public officials competent in the matter and dependent on the previous ones. If the said official or official does not appear without justifiable cause or their statements are considered unsatisfactory, the chambers, with the vote of two thirds of their members present, may cast
7314-628: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
7420-498: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
7526-451: The opposition parties (the Dominican Revolutionary Party and National Civic Union, as well as the communist Dominican Popular Movement) continued, Balaguer publicly condemned this repression and in September he pledged to form a coalition government. Hector and Jose Trujillo left the country in October but the opposition parties demanded Ramfis withdraw from the government as well. At the end of October, Ramfis announced that he would resign if
7632-654: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
7738-453: The parties. The investigation also revealed that about 200,000 people had been removed from the polls. Amid such questions about the poll's legitimacy, Balaguer agreed to hold new elections in 1996—in which he would not be a candidate. It would be the first presidential election since 1966 in which Balaguer's name did not appear on the ballot. In the 1996 elections , Balaguer's vice president, Jacinto Peynado, finished well short of making it to
7844-614: The popular groups that had participated in the rebellions of 1965. He formed the Reformist Party and entered the presidential race against Bosch, campaigning as a moderate conservative advocating gradual and orderly reforms. He quickly gained the support of the establishment and easily defeated Bosch, who ran a somewhat muted campaign out of fear of military retribution. Balaguer found a nation severely beaten by decades of turbulence, with few short times of peace, and virtually ignorant of democracy and human rights. He sought to pacify
7950-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
8056-554: The presidency in 1957, he chose Balaguer as vice-president. Three years later, when pressure from the Organization of American States (OAS) convinced Rafael that it was inappropriate to have a member of his family as president, Trujillo forced his brother to resign, and Balaguer succeeded to the post. The situation was dramatically altered, however, when Trujillo was assassinated in May 1961. Balaguer initially remained president, with
8162-422: The presidency, even though he was almost 90 years old and completely blind. This time, his most prominent opponent was José Francisco Peña Gómez of the PRD. The campaign was one of the nastiest in Dominican history. Balaguer frequently played up Peña Gómez' Haitian ancestry to his advantage. Balaguer claimed that Peña would try to merge the country with Haiti if elected. When the returns were announced, Balaguer
8268-530: The pretext of eliminating Communist influence in the Caribbean, sent 42,000 U.S. troops to defeat the revolt in Operation Power Pack , on 28 April. The provisional government, headed by Héctor García-Godoy , announced general elections for 1966. Balaguer seized his chance once he had the backing of the United States government, and returned to the Dominican Republic with the purpose of destroying
8374-499: The previous year, as established in article 128, paragraph 2, subparagraph f) of the Constitution, An explanatory message of the macroeconomic and fiscal projections, expected economic, financial and social results and the main priorities that the government intends to implement under the General State Budget Law approved for the current year. The Constitution also contemplate that Congress should receive reports from
8480-476: The real power held by Trujillo's son, Ramfis . They initially took steps to liberalize the regime, granting some civil liberties and easing Trujillo's tight censorship of the press. Meanwhile, he revoked the nonaggression pact made with Cuba in January 1961. These measures did not go nearly far enough for a populace who had no memory of the instability and poverty that preceded Trujillo, and wanted more freedom and
8586-424: The reform of 1927) with 2 years apart. Congress passed a constitutional amendment in May 2002, to restore the limitation of only 2 consecutive reelections. During the election of President of the Chamber of Deputies on 16 August 2003, there was a shooting inside the room of the legislative chamber. Later in the constitutional reform of 2010, Congress passed a non-consecutive presidential reelection law, and rejoined
8692-678: The required declarations, can be sanctioned by the criminal courts of the Republic with the penalty indicated by the current legal provisions for cases of contempt of public authorities, at the request of the corresponding chamber. To question ministers and vice ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank and the directors or administrators of autonomous and decentralized agencies of the State, as well as those of entities that administer public funds on matters within their competence, when agreed by
8798-485: The runoff. Balaguer then threw his support to the Dominican Liberation Party 's Leonel Fernández in an unusual coalition with Bosch, his political foe of over 30 years. In 2000, Balaguer sought the presidency yet again. Although by this time he could not walk without assistance, he nonetheless plunged into the campaign, well aware that his large reservoir of supporters could mean the difference in
8904-444: The runoff. Medina would have needed nearly all of Balaguer's supporters to cross over to him in order to have any realistic chance of overcoming a 25-point deficit in the first round. When it was apparent Medina would not get nearly enough support from Balaguer's voters to have a chance at victory, he pulled out of the runoff, handing the presidency to Mejía. He died of heart failure on July 14, 2002 at Santo Domingo's Abreu Clinic at
9010-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
9116-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
9222-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
9328-514: The truth about the death of the revolutionary journalist Orlando Martínez . Balaguer left a blank page in the middle of the book to be filled in at the time of his death. Balaguer explored several branches of literature. As a thorough researcher, he published many biographical books still used as reference, along with compilations and analysis of Dominican folk poets. As a poet, he was mostly of Post-Romantic influence, and his style remained strictly unchanged along his long career. Other themes, despite
9434-600: The two sides and in January 1962 final agreement led to the creation of a seven-member Council of State, led by Balaguer but including members of the UCN, to replace both the Dominican Congress and the President and his cabinet until the election. The OAS finally lifted sanctions against the country upon the formation of the council. However, popular unrest against Balaguer continued and many saw Echaverría as positioning himself to seize power. Military forces opened fire on demonstrators on 14 January which led to rioting
9540-527: The voting rules in a way that led the opposition to boycott the race. During his years as president (known popularly in Dominican politics as simply "the twelve years"), Balaguer ordered the construction of schools, hospitals, dams, roads, and many important buildings. He also presided over steady economic growth, funded public housing, opened public schools, and expanded education during his term. Additionally, over 300 politicians became millionaires during his presidency. However, his administration soon developed
9646-533: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
9752-506: The world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after
9858-469: Was a Dominican politician, scholar, writer, and lawyer. He was President of the Dominican Republic serving three non-consecutive terms for that office from 1960 to 1962, 1966 to 1978, and 1986 to 1996. His enigmatic, secretive personality was inherited from the Trujillo era, as well as his desire to perpetuate himself in power through dubious elections and state terrorism , and he was considered to be
9964-908: Was a harbinger of his passion for politics and intellectual debate. Balaguer's political career began in 1930 (before Rafael Trujillo took control of the government) when he was appointed Attorney in the Court of Properties. In later years, he served as Secretary of the Dominican Legation in Madrid (1932–1935), Undersecretary of the Presidency (1936), Undersecretary of Foreign Relations (1937), Extraordinary Ambassador to Colombia and Ecuador (1940–1943 and 1943–1947), Ambassador to Mexico (1947–1949), Secretary of Education (1949–1955), and Secretary of State of Foreign Relations (1953–1956). When Trujillo arranged to have his brother Héctor re-elected to
10070-499: Was also a half-cousin of President Ulises Heureaux . Balaguer was the only son in a family of several daughters. From a very early age, Balaguer felt an attraction to literature, composing verses that were published in local magazines even when he was very young. He was taught by Santiago -born educator and feminist writer Rosa Smester Marrero ; in his memoirs, Balaguer recalled Smester's great influence on his intellectual formation. After graduating from school, Balaguer earned
10176-457: Was announced as the winner by only 30,000 votes. However, many PRD supporters showed up to vote only to discover their names had vanished from the rolls. Peña Gómez declared fraud and called a general strike . Demonstrations took place in support of the strike. An investigation later revealed that the electoral board did not know the total number of registered voters, and the voting lists distributed at polling stations did not match those given to
10282-589: Was appointed by the Congress president for life, instituted on January 11 of each year as the Day of the Benefactor, and renamed the capital city Ciudad Trujillo. In 1941, Congress recognized the civil rights of women, allowing women to vote in the country. After Trujillo's death, and after deposition of the constitutional government of Juan Bosch in 1963, Congress was dissolved by the Triumvirate. On 25 April 1965
10388-597: Was born on 1 September 1906 in Navarrete, later named Villa Bisonó in the Santiago Province in the northwestern corner of the Dominican Republic. His father was Joaquín Jesús Balaguer Lespier, a Spaniard native of Catalan and French ancestry born in Puerto Rico, and his mother was Carmen Celia Ricardo Heureaux, daughter of Manuel de Jesus Ricardo and Rosa Amelia Heureaux (of French descent), who
10494-403: Was designed to beam the image of a Christian cross into the night sky and to be visible for tens of miles. Since completion, the Columbus Lighthouse, which supposedly houses Columbus's remains, has been a minor tourist attraction. Its light has almost never been used due to extremely high energy costs and frequent blackouts in the country. In the 1994 elections , Balaguer decided to run again for
10600-689: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
10706-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
10812-496: Was elected president in 1962 in the country's first free election. He only held office for seven months, from February 1963 to September 1963, when he was overthrown in a military coup . The country then began a tumultuous period which by 24 April 1965 saw the start of the Dominican Civil War . Military officers had revolted against the provisional Junta to restore Bosch, whereupon U.S. President Lyndon Johnson , under
10918-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
11024-460: Was founded after the drafting of the Constitution, on 6 November 1844. In the chapter 2 of this Constitution is mentioned how the legislature would be divided into two legislative bodies called Tribunat (corresponding to the current House of Deputies) and Conservative Council (corresponding to the current Senate). Earlier, deputies and senators were elected by indirect and based on census vote and candidates could only be those with properties. In 1854,
11130-544: Was on the rise, and the great majority of the people had gotten little benefit from the economic boom of the past decade. Balaguer faced Antonio Guzmán , a wealthy rancher running under the banner of the Dominican Revolutionary Party . When election returns showed an unmistakable trend in Guzmán's favor, the military stopped the count. However, amid vigorous protests at home and strong pressure abroad,
11236-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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