DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 20 December 2017

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Seven countries interested in preferential trade agreement with DR
Stock Market Law 249-17 is now in effect
National Council of the Magistracy to be convened to choose four judges
University economists see a “blind and dark alley”
Costs and stumbling blocks increase in formal sector
Salcedoa Mirabaliarum: unique species to Hermanas Mirabal province
DR joins protest against killing of whales by Japanese
It’s the flu season
Taiwan contributes to installation of 911 in the northern region
Petit bourgeois vices exhibited by PLD leaders 44 years later
Drug cartels keep trying
Venezuelan drug capo is owner of big casino in Santo Domingo
It seems a sucker born every minute
Luis Rojas leads Escogido to third straight 25 win season
Will the Estrellas be left out of the round robin?
Milly Quezada and Wilfrido Vargas together for Christmas concert
Funglode Film Festival opens in January 2018



Seven countries interested in preferential trade agreement with DR
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas said on 19 December 2017 that seven countries have expressed their interest in formalizing a preferential trade agreement with the Dominican Republic. He mentioned Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica and Mexico.

Negotiations for a free trade agreement were advanced with Canada, but were filed when the option of a free trade agreement with the United States became a priority and the DR-CAFTA agreement. Today the DR has preferential trade agreements with Europe (EPA) and Caricom countries and a partial scope trade agreement with Panama.

The announcement by Vargas was made when he gave the talk: “Vision of a Ministry of Foreign Relations Focused on Increasing Economic Diplomatic Ties. Challenges, Opportunities and the Export Sector” during the Christmas luncheon organized by the Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo).

Vargas said that new trade negotiations would not be started or resumed without the approval of the private sector and the necessary mandate, fulfilling the guidelines of the National Commission of Trade Negotiations. He mentioned talks are ongoing to add new products and services to the Partial Scope Agreement with Panama.

http://eldia.com.do/siete-paises-buscan-acuerdo-comercial-con-republica-dominicana/


Stock Market Law 249-17 is now in effect
President Danilo Medina signed into law the bill that modifies Law 19-00 on the Stock Market in the Dominican Republic. The year 2000 law is now modified by Law 249-17. The amendments seek to promote efficiency and transparency in the stock market and the rights and interests of investors and to minimize systemic risk while promoting healthy competition in the sector.


National Council of the Magistracy to be convened to choose four judges
The National Council of the Magistracy will need to be convened by President Danilo Medina to fill four vacancies that are coming up since judges have completed their terms or are to be rotated out due to age. Judges Leyda Margarita Piña, Jottin Cury David and Idelfonso Reyes were elected for a six-year term that expires on 27 December 2017. The three, nevertheless, are eligible to be reconfirmed in their positions for nine-year terms. The 2015 Constitution makes the exception that the first member judges are appointed for six years with the possibility of being eligible to serve for another nine years.

The Dominican Constitution establishes that the justices cannot be removed during their term of office and their tenure shall end only in case of death, resignation or removal for serious misconduct in the performance of their duties.

Another judge, Victor Gomez Berges, who was also appointed for a six-year term, cannot be reconfirmed in the position because he is already reached the obligatory retirement age of 75 years.

Appointments of the judges are staggered so that the partial turnover of the membership occurs at three-year intervals.

Judges Katia Miguelina Jiménez Martínez, Hermógenes Acosta de los Santos, Wilson Gómez and Ana Isabel Bonilla will complete their tenure in December 2020.

Judges Milton Ray Guevara, president of the Constitutional Court; Justo Pedro Castellanos Koury, Lino Vásquez Samuel, Víctor Joaquín Castellanos Pizano and Rafael Díaz Filpo will serve until 2024.

El Dia newspaper observes that the replacement of the four judges is of special interest given that persons close to the President of the Republic are arguing that re-election can be reinstated without a constitutional reform if the Constitutional Court declares the pertinent article in violation of the Constitution. There are two precedents where this has occurred in Latin America this year – in Honduras and Bolivia.

The National Council of the Magistracy is made up by two representatives of the Executive Branch, two of the Judicial Branch and four of the Legislative Branch. The President of the Republic convenes the council. President Medina has majority in the Legislative Branch.

http://eldia.com.do/cuatro-jueces-del-constitucional-cumplen-periodo-de-su-eleccion/


University economists see a “blind and dark alley”
The School of Economics at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (Intec) warned that if the government continues taking out loans and issuing bonds the country will find itself in a “blind and dark alley.” In their fourth report on the Dominican economy, the INTEC School of Economics professors point out as worrisome for 2018 the weight of the debt service as a percentage of government spending.

During a press conference, the dean of the Business Area of the School of Economics, Franklin Vasquez, and the coordinator of the Economics School of Intec, Rafael Espinal warned: “In the budget recently approved by the National Congress, debt service represents 42.5% of public expenditures, and if we look back to 2007, this underrepresented barely 24.3% of expenditures.”

The debt issuance practice of the government in the medium-term will put the national economy at risk, making it more expensive and costly to place bonds in the world’s financial markets, say the economists. The professors say that in the year 2018 bonds for a value of RD $68 billion will be issued on the local level and for US$1.5 billion on the international market, which is equal to 2.2% of GDP, to reduce the budget deficit. The professors say that “without a doubt, the policy of continuously increasing the debt level, to close to US$3 billion at intake in this budget, is of major concern to the Intec economic team.

Looking at the country’s economic performance in 2017, the economists pointed out that the nation’s economy presented a slight slowdown and what they called “a swaying behavior.” After the real growth of 7.1% between 2014 and 2016, Dominican economic activity presented a year-to-year growth of 5.3% and 2.7% in the first and second quarters of 2017. This is explained by, among other things, by a significant fall of 10.8% in investment or gross capital formation in the period between April and June of this year. The economists estimate that total debt is now reaching 52.4% of GDP.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...an-al-pais-a-un-callejon-sin-salida-KN8816408
https://www.listindiario.com/econom...s-a-un-callejon-sin-salida-advierten-expertos


Costs and stumbling blocks increase in formal sector
Informality in the Dominican economy and labor sector climbed to 58.6% in 2017, an increase of 1.2% in one year. The informal sector occupies 2,568,932 workers, according to the Central Bank in its Continuing National Survey of Work.

The informal sector was more prevalent among men than women with 61.9% of men working in that sector as of June 2017. Women in the informal sector constituted less than 54% of their number a decrease of slightly less than 1% year-to-year.

In May 2017, the World Bank presented the study “When Growth Is Not Enough: Explaining the Rigidity of Poverty in the Dominican Republic.” The study focused on how the DR stands out as a fast-growing economy with limited poverty reduction. The study also referred to the impact that the high percentage of informal work has on the little social upward mobility.

The World Bank notes in their research that the basic problem is informality itself with in which some small companies operate and are not even registered “because it is costly and very difficult.”

The World Bank noted that the high levels of informality leaves millions of workers outside the protection of the social security system and that not only are they affected, but also the state that is losing potential tax money.

Rafael (Pepe) Abreu, the long-time president of the National Confederation of Syndicate Unity and spokesman for labor in nationwide discussions, not only shares the idea that the increase in informality is in direct relation to the high cost of red tape faced by the micro and small businesses that choose to remain outside of the system. He suggested that the government open talks to consider possible solutions to this important issue.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economia/costos-y-trabas-elevaron-la-informalidad-a-58-6-IG8811587
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26711


Salcedoa Mirabaliarum: unique species to Hermanas Mirabal province
Environment Minister Francisco Domínguez Brito is encouraging all Dominicans to care for the endemic tree known as Salcedoa Mirabaliarum. The plant is exclusive to the Dominican Republic and carries the name of the Mirabal sisters that were killed by Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in 1960 when fighting for democracy and equality. The species is unique in the world and is found in the Salcedoa Scientific Reserve in the Hermanas Mirabal province.

A board recently was appointed to monitor the Parque Lineal Juana Núñez in Salcedo running the course of the Juana Núñez river, the Jayao stream, the adherent forests, the Bosque de la Mujer, Cañada Bellaca, Lago Clavijo and old neighborhood known as Barrio El Matadero. On the board are representatives of the city government, the Ecological Society of Salcedo, the provincial senate office, representatives of the business, community and church groups, the governorship and the provincial office of the Ministry of Environment.

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/dominguez-brito-cuidemos-nuestra-salcedoa-especie-unica-mundo/


DR joins protest against killing of whales by Japanese
The Dominican Republic has joined the European Union and 11 other nations in condemning Japan’s Antarctic whaling program. The countries reject the Japanese government’s argument that the annual slaughter is for scientific research and say that it is all about commercial whaling.

In a letter signed by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, the countries expressed their opposition to the so-called scientific whaling especially in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary that was established by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Japan is a signatory to the IWC’s moratorium on hunting whales. The moratorium, nevertheless, allows for killing whales in the name of scientific research.

http://us.whales.org/news/2017/12/e...-condemn-japanese-whale-hunting-in-antarctic/


It’s the flu season
Influenza Type A Viruses and Subtypes, Influenza B, Parainfluenza, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are making the rounds in the Dominican Republic this flu season. Influenza is an illness caused by a virus that comes on suddenly, and causes symptoms such as fever, body aches, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, a dry cough, and a sore or dry throat.

The most recent epidemiological bulletin of the Ministry of Public Health (19-25 November 2017) reports there have been 49,443 cases of febrile upper respiratory disease and 10,290 infections of lower respiratory disease nationwide. Some 192,883 cases of acute respiratory infections were reported.

The Ministry of Public Health says that as of last week some 280,000 doses of flu vaccine are available at the 1,389 vaccination posts nationwide. Priority is being given to the aging, pregnant women, children 0-2 years old, and patients suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart or lung disease.

The Ministry of Public Health also has available vaccines for A(H1 N1), A(H3N2) and Influenza type B for vulnerable sectors.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/12/18/salud-reporta-la-circulacion-de-cinco-virus-respiratorios/


Taiwan contributes to installation of 911 in the northern region
The government of Taiwan has delivered the second part of a donation to expand the 911 Emergency Service in the northern part of the country. The donation will be used to install surveillance equipment in urban areas for monitoring and assisting in fighting crime, enhancing safety for business and residents in cities.

Taiwan Ambassador Valentino Tang delivered the funds for the 911 program in the presence of Vice Minister of the Presidency Zoraima Cuello, Vice Minister for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development Inocencio Garcia, and the director of the 911 Emergency System, Dalvert Polanco.

The funds are allowing the installation of surveillance devices in the municipalities of Santiago, Puerto Plata, Sosúa, Cabarete, Luperón, Imbert and Villa Bisonó in Santiago and Puerto Plata provinces.

Ambassador Tang said that the Taiwan Government commits to continue to support the 911 Emergency System in 2018-2020.

http://www.taiwanembassy.org/do_es/post/7708.html
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/taiwan-entrega-fondos-expandir-911-zona-norte/


Petit bourgeois vices exhibited by PLD leaders 44 years later
On occasion of the 44th anniversary of the founding of the Dominican Liberation Party, which was based on the rejection of the parties then in existence and belonging to the system, the party appears to be in a deplorable situation, where not even the political leadership of the party and its main leaders seem to respect or believe in the organization that was built with such great sacrifices by good Dominicans headed by Juan Bosch in 1973, says J. Osiris Mota a founding member of the party.

According to Mota, party leaders such as Danilo Medina, Leonel Fernandez, Reinaldo Pared Perez and others pay little respect to the party’s motto of “Serve the party to serve the people.” He said that consumerism and the vices of the petit bourgeois, so criticized by party founder Juan Bosch, are those that dominate the daily lives of the party leaders today, above all in those who key positions in government.

He noted that in the latest party congress, the reforms that were decided upon have not been acted on. He criticized the cover of impunity under which many in the party act doing so much damage to the party organization. Mota goes on to question whether the party that presented itself to the population is the same party that is now ruling the country.

Along these same lines, El Dia’s editorial on 20 December 2017 observes that the ruling PLD party is repeating traits of the PRD that its founding members had criticized. The PLD was formed by PRD dissidents.

http://elnacional.com.do/vicios-pequenos-burgueses-dominan-a-los-lideres-del-pld-44-anos-despues/
http://eldia.com.do/otras-similitudes/


Drug cartels keep trying
The South American drug cartels continue to search for weaknesses in the system of vigilance in the waters surrounding the Dominican Republic used to move cocaine into the European and United States markets. Since last Thursday, 14 December 2017, Dominican authorities have seized well over 4,000 kilograms of cocaine that seems to indicate that the cartels have stepped up their deliveries to this island nation.

In the dawn hours of 18 December 2017, fast boats belonging to the Dominican Armada seized an additional 76 cocaine packages – some 80 kg – in a maritime operation off the coast of Pedernales. In this case, two foreigners were said to have been arrested. The authorities sent the suspect drugs to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences for verification of the type of drug and its weight.

Over the last six days intelligence agencies and the Armed Forces have seized a total of 2,528 kg of cocaine.

http://elnacional.com.do/entrada-coca-no-para-ocupan-otros-80-kilos/


Venezuelan drug capo is owner of big casino in Santo Domingo
Venezuelan prosecutor Tarek William Saab accuses Venezuelan Yoel Palmar, arrested on 11 December 2017 in Bogotá, Colombia, of being the head of the Cartel del Malecon that transported drugs from Colombia to the Dominican Republic connecting through Venezuela.

As reported in El Dia, Saab said that Palmar is the alleged owner of the Casino Malecón Palace in the Malecón Center in Santo Domingo. Saab said that Palmar is a very dangerous man who was protected by his predecessor Luisa Ortega and her team. He said Palmar is known as the biggest capo handling the traffic of drugs from Venezuela to the Dominican Republic. He is also the first capo captured since the arrest of Hermágoras González, the head of the La Guajira cartel in Venezuela in 2008. Colombian authorities say he was a resident of Bogotá.

An EFE news release published in Diario Libre reported that Venezuela has requested the extradition of Palmar from Colombia.

http://eldia.com.do/venezuela-atribuye-a-dueno-de-casino-en-rd-encabezar-cartel/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...on-vinculos-en-republica-dominicana-IX8819802


It seems a sucker born every minute
A man was arrested in Mao, Valverde province, in the northwest, as he tried to trick a man who had just left a bank into buying a fake bar of gold. The police said that their agents arrested José Alberto Jimenez Ventura, 51, when he was caught in the act.

According to the police, “the person detained was not able to carry out his subterfuge due to the prompt intervention of the police agents who noted the suspicious look about the man.” Jimenez Ventura is under arrest and awaiting formal charges from the Justice Department.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...r-timar-con-supuesto-lingote-de-oro-AM8817130


Luis Rojas leads Escogido to third straight 25 win season
In the annals of the Dominican Professional Winter League Baseball, not many managers have ever won 25 games three straight years in a row. If Escogido manages to qualify for this year’s Round Robin that begins after the 50-game regular season comes to an end this week, it will be the third straight year that the Leones win the right to play in the post-season games.

In 2015-2016, the Escogido won the championship. With only three games to go, the Escogido, at 25 wins and 22 losses, could make the top four teams again. They are currently two games above the fifth-place team, the Tigres del Licey.
Rojas noted that for the Leones to be where they are club unity and good communication within the team have been essential. The 36-year-old manager says that this has brought the team through the worst of times.

At the time of his comments, the Gigantes Del Cibao and the Aguilas Cibaeñas were tied in first place, with the Leones Del Escogido in third place with a two-game advantage over both the Tigres del Licey that was tied with the Estrellas Orientales.

https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...canza-por-tercer-ano-a-25-victorias-GN8816967


Will the Estrellas be left out of the round robin?
After holding on to the first place position for the first two months of the season, the Estrellas Orientales on Tuesday, 19 December 2017, had slipped to fifth place, displaced by the two capital city teams, the Leones del Escogido and the Tigres del Licey.

The team standing now has the Aguilas Cibaeñas tied with the Gigantes del Cibao in the lead, with both ensuring they will be in the round robin. Still to be decided is which will be the other two teams. The contenders are the Leones del Escogido, that is two games away from first position, and the Tigres del Licey, three games away. The Licey will have it easier because they will be playing the Toros del
Este.

The Estrellas are now four games away from the first position, but still with a chance to make the next round of the Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Championship that will resume after the Christmas celebration. The Toros del Este have kept their hold of the last position they have had all throughout this season.

The remaining games this season are:
Wednesday, 20 December:
Estrellas Orientales vs. Leones del Escogido (SAnto Domingo)
Tigres del Licey vs. Toros del Este (La Romana)
Gigantes del Cibao vs. Aguilas Cibaeñas (San Francisco de Macoris)

Thursday, 21 December:
Toros del ESte vs. Tigres Licey (Santo Domingo)
Gigantes del Cibao vs. Estrellas Orientales (San Pedro de Macoris)
Leones del Escogido vs. Aguilas Cibaeñas (Santiago)

http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Inicio
http://www.lidom.com/home/calendario/
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/163593-2017-18-Baseball-Season


Milly Quezada and Wilfrido Vargas together for Christmas concert
Merengue stars Milly Quezada and Wilfrido Vargas will take the stage of the Teatro La Fiesta of the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel for the show “Fin de Año por Adelantado,” an evening of the best of merengue on Saturday, 23 December 2017 starting at 9pm. Comedian Juan Carlos Pichardo Jr. is also on the program. Tickets for sale at the Jaragua box office.


Funglode Film Festival opens in January 2018
With the screening of "Wonderstruck," the 11th Dominican Global Film Festival, sponsored by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode), will open on 24 January and run through 31 January 2018 at the Blue Mall cinemas. One of the most important film festivals in Latin America, the Santo Domingo event this year has chosen the film in which a Dominican child, Jaden Michael has a leading role. The film was shown in the Cannes Film Festival. It is an adaptation of a novel by Brian Selznick.

In the film, the story of a young boy in the US Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. As told in the film, in 1927, the young girl runs away from her father's New Jersey home to find her mother/idol. In 1977, recently orphaned Ben runs away from his Minnesota home in search of his father.

France is the guest country for the 2018 festival. In 2018, there will be a first time a Competitive Feature Film Festival chapter specializing in premiering films. More than 90 films will be chosen in cinemas in the Colonial City and at the Palacio del Cine of Blue Mall. The closing act will happen in the Colonial City with the participation of leading global cinema figures.

Attending the announcement of the 2018 Film Festival were former President Leonel Fernandez, president of Funglode; Manuel Corripio, president of the advisory committee of FCGD; Luis Alberto Scalella, president of the International Federation of Associations of Cinematography Producrs (FIAPF) and Omar de la Cruz, director of the Dominican Global Film Festival.

The organizers said that the full film festival program would be posted online and announced on 15 January 2018.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5208216/videoplayer/vi2541402393?ref_=tt_ov_vi
http://2017.festivaldecineglobal.org/
https://www.listindiario.com/entret...dicion-del-festival-de-cine-global-dominicano
 
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