The diaspora? Are you referring to the Dominicans that live in the US that send money back to DR to be circulated among the economy? Do they have a lot of power from abroad? Who or what powers allowed for Danilo Medina to run for president? Was it the US government? - Sorry for all the questions, I'm just genuinely really curious.
Also, are most resorts on the island owned by international groups of investors?
Whom do you think invested in all those chains, etc..?
The transformation of the DR from that of 70’s to early 90’s is due to the Diaspora’s investing into the country.
The old families simply held to their formats and failed to adapt. The ones that did, were a bit late on the bandwagons but invest they did.
The Diaspora that returned from their overseas enterprises, came and saw the opportunities abound. They did the heavy part of the work. The sugar families own land where only Haitians would dare live at. Lots of land that’s too rural.
As of late, they had started to invest into making use of those lands for power generation related enterprises.
Danilo Medina, simply put, had backing from several sectors from within and outside the DR. There are no King makers in the DR. Believe it or not, elections are on the spot on.
The US gov stopped interfering with the DR candidates since their last ultimatum to Balaguer.
When you read up or hear the factoids about the small percenters being the beneficiaries of the bulk of the economy, take it with a grain of salt. They are still using data from the late 90’s on their figures.
Sugar is no longer a profit heaven. Same for other sectors that were the bread and butter of those families.
The majority of those resorts are today in the hands of international investors, save for some where DR investors still hold property or stakes after diversifying and contracts. Like Punta Cana or Casa de Campo...
Some of those contracts, the new investors bought the businesses but not the property rights. Others contracted the land to develop it.
Not long ago major U.S. chains came to the DR to buy out some local chains. These local guys decided it was best not to sell and instead went ahead and invested non-stop into expanding their own businesses and refreshing their models.
It would be competition suicide for these same U.S. chains to now come and try to push their way in against these locals.
The dynamics of the local economy are far more diversified than many people think.