A/HRC/7/19/Add.5 A/HRC/7/23/Add.3 Page 26 95. That legacy continued to prosper after the end of Trujillo’s dictatorship, especially through the consolidation of a certain narrative presenting the Dominican Republic as a country predominantly populated by European descendents and whose survival was jeopardized by the mixture with the blood of non-white races. Joaquin Balaguer, an influential intellectual and political figure who dominated the political scene in the country for decades until his death in 2002, played a considerable role in the entrenchment of racial prejudices in the Dominican Republic through his writings, 12 political thought and actions. 96. The Special Rapporteur was deeply concerned by the manifold contemporary manifestations, as testified by the communities affected, of this historical legacy throughout Dominican society at the social, economic, political and cultural levels. 97. First of all, these manifestations are of a social and economic nature, as reflected in the convergence of the map of social and economic marginalization with the map of communities of African descent. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the Dominican Government’s acknowledgment in its 2007 report to CERD 13 that Dominicans of African origin are among the main victims of failure to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights, and highlights that this reality demonstrates the existence of persistent structural and systemic racism and racial discrimination. Poverty cannot be considered per se as the root cause of social and economic exclusion and inherent by nature to particular ethnic communities. Poverty disproportionately experienced by such communities is in fact the consequence of lasting racially discriminatory practices. If not corrected and discontinued, this will in turn aggravate and perpetuate the conditions of poverty, marginalization and exclusion of those communities. Particularly worrying are the difficulties faced by black Dominicans, as recognized by the Government, in areas such as access to skilled employment. 98. Manifestations of that heritage are also of a political nature. Meetings with political parties revealed that anti-Haitianism remains a powerful force in the Dominican political culture. A clear example of the depth and complexity of this phenomenon can be observed through an analysis of the political discourse during the 1990s, characterized by tones of overt racism and anti-Haitianism, in particular when José Francisco Peña Gómez, black Dominican and reputedly of Haitian descent, became a popular presidential candidate. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the racial and political components of anti-Haitianism, which perpetuate the dichotomy between black Haitians and white, Hispanic or Indian Dominicans, are a major obstacle for Dominicans in recognizing the three roots – Amerindian, Hispanic and African – of their multicultural identity. 99. Finally, the cultural manifestations of racism and racial discrimination touch the central issue of national identity. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the elaboration for the first time in the history of the country of a cultural policy that acknowledges the African contribution in the Dominican Republic. He hopes that this policy will be a first step towards restoring the place that 12 His ideas are notably reflected in his books La realidad Dominicana (Dominican reality), from 1943, and La isla al revés: Haití y el destino dominicano (The island upside down: Haiti and Dominican destiny’), from 1983. 13 CERD/C/DOM/12.