Editing Joaquín Balaguer (section)

==Third presidency==
[[File:Joaquin Balaguer.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Joaquín Balaguer in 1988]]
[[File:President Joaquin Bologuer of the Dominican Republic and his entourage arrive for a state visit - DPLA - 9dc1bd113ee971632527325a0f6b1fba.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Balaguer (right) and his cabinet arrive in the US for a state visit in 1988]]
[[File:President Joaquin Balaguer receives a Foreign Ambassador at the Naitonal Palace.jpg|thumb|right|200px| Balaguer (center) receives Ambassador [[Ismael Moreno Pino|Moreno Pino]] of Mexico at the [[National Palace (Dominican Republic)|National Palace]] of Santo Domingo in 1990.]]
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Balaguer's third presidency was considerably more liberal than the "Twelve Years" had been. He was more tolerant of opposition parties and human rights.<ref name="Buckman"/>

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 a means to reward his political supporters with lucrative public works contracts.  The economy also improved considerably.

Balaguer was narrowly reelected in the [[1990 Dominican Republic general election|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 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 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 Dominican Republic general election|1994 elections]], Balaguer decided to run again for 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' [[Haiti]]an ancestry to his advantage. Balaguer claimed that Peña would try to merge the country with Haiti if elected. When the returns were announced, Balaguer 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 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 Dominican Republic presidential election|1996 elections]], Balaguer's vice president, Jacinto Peynado, finished well short of making it to 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.