Hundred of public sector doctors and their allies were violently repressed by police and Swat teams in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, on March 12.

The police used tear gas and water cannons to prevent marchers from reaching the National Palace where they would hand in a document that listed their demands.

The march, which was organized by the Dominican Medical Association (CMD), demanded a salary increase coupled with other essential demands needed for the operation of   public hospitals as the 2008 budget approved last year by President Leonel Fernández allocates less funding for healthcare.

Fernández is under attack by the opposition who accuse him of using government funds to finance his own re-election campaign.

Public healthcare in the Dominican Republic has worsened since 2003 when the biggest bank fraud in recent history led to a government bailout that increased taxes on ordinary people and cut funding for healthcare, education and other basic needs.

Solidarity

The march came as a response to the government’s refusal to conduct talks with the CMD after doctors struck twice this year to demand a salary increase.

The CMD wanted to show the government how far it would go in order to win by going to the National Palace where it would hand in the doctor’s demands.

But the minister of interior refused to grant a permit to the CMD and its supporters by saying that the "House of Government is an area of power that needs to be preserved".

This set the stage for a possible confrontation between marchers and police.

Because the strikes had damaged the government’s image in time of a contested election campaign, and given confidence to other unions to be more militant, the government and the Dominican ruling class launched a vicious attack on the CMD.

The Catholic Church hierarchy led the way by characterizing the strikes as being "indolent and irresponsible", and an "injustice" to the poor.

But the attacks did not deter the CMD and the Alternative Social Forum (FSA) from marching and defying the government in the streets.

Chanting "Esta lucha no se para ni con bomba ni con balas" (Neither Bombs or bullets won’t stop this fight) and "Salud y Educación para todos" (Healthcare and education for everyone), doctors, transport workers, teachers and students marched in unison carrying anti-government signs.

The New Option National Transport Union (FENATRANO), which is part of the FSA, conducted one of the most important actions of the day with a stoppage that affected one million people.

FENATRANO was recently reinvigorated when a court dismissed an anti-terrorist case against the union leadership and other unionists for lack of evidence. (After a bomb was thrown at a bus last year during transport stoppages in March, the government and the media cooked up a case against FENATRANO to bankrupt the union, and criminalize the labor movement under the pretext of combating terrorism).

Others expression of solidarity for the doctors came from passers-by and retail workers who interrupted work and came outside to show their support.

The confrontation

A few meters away from the National Palace, the marchers confronted a large police contingent that stood guard behind a metal fence.

After standing face to face in front of the police contingent for a second, the crowd pressed hard in an attempt to bring down the fence.

Soon, the police was using tear gas, rubber bullets and water against the marchers. Police officers beat up people with their clubs and fired gunshots in the air.

But people united to fight back the violent repression that ensued.

A group of activists surrounded a police officer who tried to intimidate people with his gun, managing to take it away from him.

In the midst of the confusion, transport workers sat down on the sidewalk for a few minutes to ease tensions, and prevent a bloodbath.

But another tactic that helped ensured the safety of people was the decision by the march’s organizers to immediately retreat from the scene.

At the end, 40 people were arrested while 3 were injured. (Though it is possible that the number of injured was much greater as it later surfaced that people who were sprayed with water presented symptoms of vomit, diarrhea and conjunctivitis).

The fight goes on

After facing so much brutal repression, and as a way to calm down people’s nerves, some FSA members lingered nearby dancing to the rhythm of Haitian and Dominican music while drinking soft drinks and beer.

Meanwhile, CMD’s president Waldo Ariel Suero condemned the repression and vowed to keep fighting for a salary increase and better working conditions for doctors beyond the 2008 presidential elections in May.

Both the FSA and the CDM plan to hold protest, vigils and marchers throughout the country during the following months, culminating in a general strike April 9.

The general strike will also be in remembrance of Orlando Martinez, a left wing journalist murdered by the government during the Doce Años (1966-1978) right wing dictatorship whose repressive tactics are making a comeback.

International solidarity will be crucial to stop the government repression against the left, labor and black youth in poor neighborhoods that die at the hands of the police every year, as well as the deportation of undocumented Haitian immigrants.

As important will be to build a strong popular movement and labor movement that can fight back against police and military repression to win the reforms that will benefit people’s basic needs.

Emmanuel Santos is an activist in New York City

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