Don y reparación entre héroes anónimos de la revolución de 1965 en la República Dominicana

Drawing on ethnographic research with Dominicans who participated in the April 1965 Revolution, this article examines the relationship between gift and reparation. The revolution, which unfolded over four months in the capital city of Santo Domingo, has been officially recognized by the state as a patriotic struggle. Yet, the economic cycle that emerged following its defeat resulted in one of its most detrimental consequences: the consolidation of neoliberal hegemony in the country. This shift brought about a steady erosion of social policy, culminating in the privatization of social security in 2000—a final blow to former combatants who now seek recognition for their role in the uprising. In this context, the article interrogates the dynamics of the gift and the discourse of transitional justice, which has increasingly functioned as an ethical scaffold for contemporary capitalism. It sheds light on the connections between revolutionary failure, structural transformations in Dominican capitalism, and the present-day realities of these ex-combatants—the anonymous heroes of 1965. The analysis weaves together two levels: the life history of former ex-combatant Luchy Pared and the broader macrosocial changes in the country’s political economy. The data and insights are drawn from fieldwork conducted in Santo Domingo, particularly with members of the Fundación de Solidaridad con los Héroes de Abril (FUSHA). By combining ethnographic engagement with sociohistorical analysis, the article concludes that the Dominican state—through its entanglement with global capitalism—produces what the author terms a system of serial obstacles. This study offers a distinctive ethnographic lens through which to reconsider the legacy of the 1965 Revolution and its resonance in contemporary struggles for justice in the Dominican Republic.