Sociologist Amaurys Pérez described as invaluable the contributions to Dominican democracy made by Marcelo Bermúdez, an anti-Trujillo fighter who died last Monday in Santiago, who faced risks and dangers in search of freedom. “Both in the fight against the Trujillo dictatorship and during the Triumvirate, facing the risks and dangers caused by hundreds of martyrs who sealed with blood the commitment of our people to freedom,” said Pérez.
Pérez indicated that Bermúdez had an active role, both clandestinely and in the public part of the June 14 Revolutionary Movement.
He pointed out that his political work began in the Democratic Youth and he was very active within the organization between 1947 and 1959. He added that Bermúdez joined the June 14 Movement, being arrested in January 1960 and subjected to bloody torture in the La 40 prison, where he remained until the execution of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo.
He noted that in the stage of public life, on June 14, he formed the Santiago Regional Committee, actively participating in the organization of the party. After the coup d’état against Juan Bosch, he joined the June 14 guerrilla as part of the Enrique Jiménez Moya Front, which operated in El Rubio, San José de las Matas, where he stood out as a guerrilla, Pérez added.
He mentioned that in 1963 he miraculously saved his life in a mission that he undertook together with Fidelio Despradel, Juan German Arias Núñez and Domingo Sánchez Bisonó (El Guajiro), which had the objective of seeking support for the guerrilla. Then he went into exile.
Marcelo Bermúdez, businessman and anti-Trujillo fighter from Santiago, dies
Pérez said that in the 70’s he joined the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), founded by Professor Juan Bosch. While between 1996-2000, in the PLD Government, he was appointed by the Executive Branch as governor of the Santiago province.
In addition, he remained an active member of the Testimonio Foundation, an entity dedicated to preserving the historical memory of the political prisoners of the Trujillo dictatorship.
