What is the importance of the Dominican Republic in the novel, Yo!?

The Garcia family is originally from the Dominican Republic, moving to the United States when Yo was a young girl. Several chapters, including "The stranger," "The Caretakers," and "The nightwatchman" take place there when Yo is visiting and staying in her cousin Don Mundin's house. Laura and Carlos both allude to the fact that the D.R. was not a safe place for them to live under the rule of dictator Rafael Trujillo. Carlos was a member of the resistance fighting against Trujillo's regime, and Laura mentions the "homes raided, people hauled off, torture chambers, electric pods" (33) and other terrifying means of controlling the populace exercised by the dictator. When Yo returns to the D.R. with Dexter Hays, she mentions to Dexter that, though the political situation has improved, and the country is a democracy, "the word doesn't mean the same thing as here" (190). Dexter claims to have heard there will be tanks in the streets during the election, but that is never confirmed.