Mirabal sisters

The Mirabal sisters were a group of political activists who opposed the rule of President Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. Trujillo had carried out numerous atrocities within the nation, ruling as a dictator, and many such offenses had been witnessed by the sisters. Minerva, one Mirabal sister, was romantically pursued by the dictator. After refusing his advances, she was routinely harassed by police and denied her license to practice law.

The sisters came together to form the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. Once they began to publicly oppose Trujillo, they were arrested along with their husbands. After an international outcry, the sisters were released. However, when they attempted to visit their husbands in prison, the sisters were murdered by members of Trujillo’s secret police. After their deaths, they were hailed as martyrs in their country.

Background

Patria Mercedes Mirabal Reyes (Patria), Belgica Adela Mirabal Reyes (Dede), Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal Reyes (Minerva), and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal Reyes (Maria Teresa) were four sisters from the Dominican Republic. Their parents, Enrique Mirabal Fernández and Mercedes Reyes Camilo, owned a farm near Ojo de Agua, a small village near the larger town of Salcedo. While the sisters were young, the dictator Rafael Trujillo came to power in their country. Trujillo was a member of the Dominican army and trained by the United States. By 1927, Trujillo had risen to the prestigious rank of general. In 1930, he led a military coup against the rightful president of the Dominican Republic, Horacio Vásquez. The coup was successful, and Trujillo remained in command of the army, which gave him control of the country’s government. Trujillo took on the role of president and placed many of his family members and supporters in powerful offices.

While Trujillo was in control of the government, he stabilized the country, bringing modernization and safety from foreign wars. However, he ensured that his policies primarily benefitted his supporters, making the rich wealthier while harming the poor. Furthermore, Trujillo harbored a prejudicial hatred toward the people of Haiti, which neighbored the Dominican Republic. He encouraged anti-Haitian rhetoric among his supporters, eventually ordering the killings of thousands of Haitian immigrants.

Many members of the Dominican Republic sought to free their country from Trujillo’s control. However, the dictator proved difficult to remove, as he survived several assassination attempts. Furthermore, his control of much of the country’s military made it difficult to oust him from power. Despite these challenges, opposition against Trujillo continued to grow as citizens organized against him.

Overview

Three of the Mirabel sisters, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, earned college degrees, a rare achievement for women in the Dominican Republic at the time. While in college, the three sisters recognized that their country was struggling under Trujillo’s rule. The four Mirabal sisters decided that if given the opportunity, they would oppose Trujillo’s regime.

Patria married a farmer named Pedro Gonzales, who was also opposed to Trujillo’s administration. Patria decided she did not want her children to grow up under Trujillo’s rule and decided to do whatever was necessary to remove the dictator from power. Minerva studied law at the University of Santo Domingo in the capital city of Santo Domingo. President Trujillo became romantically interested in Minerva, but she declined his advances. When Minerva refused the president, he threatened to use his power to make her life difficult. After she graduated in 1949, she was denied her license to practice law because she had displeased Trujillo.

Minerva soon became the most radical of the Mirabal sisters. Despite Minerva’s refusals, Trujillo remained obsessed with Minerva. He ordered members of the police and military to harass her, but Minerva continued to openly defy the president.

Maria Teresa followed in the path of her sister Minerva, attending the University of Santo Domingo and studying mathematics. She adopted her older sister’s political views, which led to her being mistreated by authorities. When Minerva officially joined the political movement that intended to remove Trujillo from power, Maria Teresa followed. Patria initially resisted the movement, but after witnessing a massacre carried out by Trujillo supporters, she too joined her sisters. Dede refused to publicly set herself against Trujillo, preferring to quietly voice her displeasure from home.

Together, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria formed the Movement of the Fourteenth of June, which was named after the date of the massacre witnessed by Patria. Others joined, and the group openly opposed Trujillo, something that was extremely dangerous to do.

The Movement of the Fourteenth of June began distributing pamphlets listing the names of people that Trujillo’s administration had murdered. In response, Trujillo had the sisters and their husbands arrested. After an international outcry, Trujillo released the sisters but refused to release their husbands. On the way to visit their imprisoned husbands, the Mirabal sisters were accosted. They were beaten to death with clubs, and then the scene of the crime was disguised as a car accident.

Less than one year later, Trujillo was successfully assassinated. General Pupo Roman revealed that the deaths of the Mirabal sisters had not been an accident, and they had been murdered by Trujillo’s secret police. The sisters were hailed as martyrs and national heroes, and their story was carried on by their surviving sibling, Dede. In 1999, the United Nations declared November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in honor of the slain activists.

The Mirabel sisters, also known as "Las Mariposas" or "the butterflies," are icons of the fight for humanitarian rights and against gender inequity and authoritarian governments. They have a cemented place in history and remain cultural icons whose story has been retold in film and literature. Author Julie Alvarez published a historical fiction novel, "In the Time of the Butterflies (1994)," which tells the Mirabel sisters' story. This novel was also turned into a film. 

Bibliography

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“How the Mirabal Sisters Helped Topple a Dictator” History.com, 8 Mar. 2021, www.history.com/news/mirabal-sisters-trujillo-dictator. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Kubic, Mike. “Trujillo & the Mirabal Sisters.” CommonLit, 2016, www.commonlit.org/texts/trujillo-the-mirabal-sisters. Accessed 27 Apr. 2021.

Radeska, Tijana. “The Mirabal Sisters” The Vintage News, 29 Apr. 2017, www.thevintagenews.com/2017/04/19/the-mirabal-sisters-the-three-butterflies-who-were-killed-because-of-their-activities-against-the-dictatorship-of-rafael-trujillo/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2021.

Roorda, Eric Paul. “The Murder of the Mirabal Sisters in the Dominican Republic.” Latin American History, oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-487. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Sanchez, Victoria. “Las Mariposas: The Mirabal Sisters’ Role as Heroines of the Dominican Republic.” STMU History Media, 1 May 2017, stmuhistorymedia.org/las-mariposas-the-mirabal-sisters-role-as-heroines-of-the-dominican-republic. Accessed 27 Apr. 2021.

Tapalaga. “The Mirabal Sisters: A Global Symbol of Violence Against Women.” History of Yesterday, 4 Sept. 2020, historyofyesterday.com/the-mirabal-sisters-a-global-symbol-of-violence-against-women-54176a0f75e5. Accessed 27 Apr. 2021.