In the Dominican Republic, tourism is the dominant development strategy transforming not only the social and cultural landscape, but also individual reflection of self, community and nation. In the northeast region of Samana?, as tourism has grown and become an important source of employment and profit, the struggles to control the industry are politicized. This case study examines the attempts of a foreign company to control local tourist assets, and the ensuing struggle on the local level to resist. The conflict, although grounded in material assets, was often articulated through the complex discourse of identity. Cultural politics became a primary vehicle through which the control of material and symbolic assets was fought. These struggles bring to light a changing cultural field, exposing the instability of categories long taken for granted.
KEYWORDS: tourism development, cultural politics, Dominican Republic.
They are offering a lot to buy property, if they offer me all the money in the world, I am not going to sell because I live here, I love it here and no one is going to take me (sacarme) from the (water)front and throw me behind, it’s the truth. They can offer me a million Canadian or American and they won’t take me from here y if the government dislocates me I will go, but because I have to, not for the money.
[A Dominican living along the waterfront in Samana?, 2004]
No, I don’t like it because everything here is only for the people from Samana?, the people born here. The foreigners come and invest their money, but they should not reap any benefits, nothing is for them (foreigners), the Samanese see this as stealingy Everyone is a foreigner, only the people born here have rights Fall of the world is a foreigner if you are not from here. (Capitalen?a who had been living in Samana? for one year, responding to my query of how she liked life in Samana?, 2005) They eat meat, while we eat bones. [Often heard sentiment in Samana? in reference to foreigner-owned businesses in Samana?]
Al pan pan y al vino vino. [Translated by a university student from Samana? as: If you’re American you’re American, if you’re Dominican you’re Dominican (there’s no changing that), 2005] As these quotes suggest, people in Samana? in the northeast region of the Dominican Republic are in a struggle to control not only the public discourse surrounding who should benefit from tourism development, but also the tangible assets of the tourism infrastructure. This struggle came to a head in the late 1990s when a foreign owned company moved into the region, with the sanction of the national government, and attempted to usurp power, control, and economic benefits from locals.
Local elites, the primary target of the takeover, felt they built the business (in this case day-long boat excursions to a beach) from the ground up and were seeing the fruits of their labor appropriated by a politically and economically stronger foreign entity. Claiming their Dominican identity and therefore, privilege, the boat owners organized strikes and protests to protect their control over the industry. On the other hand, local vendors (food and crafts) who had only ever minimally benefited economically from this activity, threatened to side with the international company and erode the veneer of solidarity.

Need it in MLA format.