Poverty - middle class - wealth 🏝️ Country and People of the Dominican Republic

followmikecee (61)in #life • 6 years ago (edited)

Hola mis Steemians

In the first part of "Country and People" I've informed you about the identity and origin of the Dominicans. Today's part is about their (life) standard.

About two-thirds of the total population here

are counted among the poor. Most are unemployed or underemployed, or work for under-paid wages. Many of the urban workers come from the countryside. The rural exodus has increased massively over the past 50 years. And so the urban population grew by more than 300% between 1920 and 1970, whereas growth in the countryside has increased by just about 50%.

The displacement into various marginalized groups of a large part of the population is still increasing in both, the city and the countryside in a frightening way. The Dominican peasants are descendants of Haitian settlements or liberated slaves (from Africa).

Only 18 families

own over 52% from the country. The farmers who own a piece of land for cultivation can be lucky. But much larger is the "group of landless farmers." They often work as seasonal workers or arbite partially in road construction or in the agroindustrial field and similar jobs to earn a few pesos. Unfortunately, in most cases this is not enough to feed a family.

bad drinking water supply
insufficient sales markets
lack of medical care
and bad information of the farmers

These are all reasons why many of them are looking for their luck in the city - unfortunately mostly without success. The next step is emigration. Many rural refugees are underemployed or unemployed.

The "chiriperos", as the casual laborers and day laborers are called here, work wherever they can get one (for example, as an occasional painter for the neighbor).

For those who have a small business, things are a little better. The so-called "triciclo" (bicycle with cart) sells juices and vegetables, with the "paleta" (belly shop), stands on the street and sold chewing gum or cigarettes. And the children of chiriperos often work as a newspaper vendor, shoeshine or window cleaner And if they do not earn a certain amount, they often can not come home.

Basically, everyone tries to do business.

There is an interaction,

between the skin colors and income. The darker the skin color, the lower the income and of course vice versa. But this is catagorically denied by the government and the people here.
But there is definitely such a connection between the skin colors and the opportunities in the society. Same with income and the associated prestige in the population. Two areas where skin color and career play no role is the army and professional sports. In sports, I would say dominates even more the dark skin color in the top ranks.

The middle class

is the most diverse group of Dominican society. It includes many income levels and occupations such as small business people and employees. You'll finde here the largest mixture of peoples. Around 50% of all "middle class people" have ancestors from Spain. The middle and upper classes make up only about one third of today's population of the Dominican Republic.

The upper class

was created very late. It is basically a motley group of industrialists, traders and landowners. Long-established families with Family tree back to colonial times.

A part of the upper class has its roots in the far north of the country, in the so-called Cibao - main cultivation area for tobacco and sugar.

New methods of tobacco and sugarcane cultivation brought in 1870 immigrant Cubans. That brought a lot of wealth to the region of Santo Domingo. This continued prosperity gave the families a strong sense of independence from the South.

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