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Daily News - 20 March 2000
Buying cedulas, no longer to make political sense
The president of the Junta Central Electoral, Dr. Manuel Ramón Morel Cerda alerted that persons who are buying the cedulas, or identification and voting cards, of citizens identified as most likely to vote for an opposition party will lose their money in the transaction. Dr. Morel said that the persons that sell their cedulas will be able to get another cedula with which to vote for whomever they want in time for the presidential election. Political parties in the past have purchased the cedulas of those identified with opposition parties, taking advantage of the poverty of many. The JCE now says that they will be handing out duplicates to citizens until just a few days before 16 May 2000, election day. The president of the JCE furthermore said that any person caught buying cedulas would be sent to justice.
Fuel consumption up 29%, despite increase in prices
Consumption of fuel increased 29% in the first two months of the year, despite the 20% price increase in October 1999. The increase in consumption makes things worse for the government because it comes at a time when world market prices are extraordinarily high. It means the government will need more dollars to pay for the country's fuel bill. El Siglo newspaper reports that the Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo dispatched 5,420,600 barrels of fuel in January and February. This was 1,220,100 barrels more than for the same period in 1999. There has been a 14.5% increase in regular non-leaded fuel. The more expensive premium unleaded fuel dropped 4.4%, reflecting the fact that many consumers have switched to regular gasoline. The increase in consumption can be attributed to the increase in cars in circulation, December is a big car sales month, and the increase in blackouts that occurred from January to February. Blackout periods force businesses and residences to spend more on fuel to power their generators.
Banks make big profits in 1999
Bank profits were RD$2,078.37 million last year, or 84.9% compared to the previous year's RD$1,556.3 million, according to a Central Bank report write up in El Siglo newspaper. Assets of commercial banks at the end of 1999 were RD$110,818.6 million, up 21.7% compared to 1998. Commercial bank profitability was 34.3%, 11 points more than in 1998. Liabilities increased 21.5%, and capital 24.6%.
11 dead and 4 seriously burned in Victoria Jail fire
A fire that broke out Saturday afternoon at the Victoria Jail caused 11 deaths and 41 inmates to be seriously burned. Of these, four are in the intensive care unit of the Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital Burn Center, the main burn unit of the Dominican Republic. Of the eleven dead, only ten had been identified as of Sunday. As per Sunday evening, 27 inmates were still interned in the Luis Eduardo Aybar, Darío Contreras or Plaza de la Salud hospitals.
The fire occurred on Saturday at around 3:30 pm in the hall known as "El Comedor," the jail's former dining room converted into prison living quarters due to the overpopulation of the jail. La Victoria has capacity for 1,600 prisoners, but houses 3,384.
The fire was accidental, but its causes have not yet been clarified. The Department of Prisons says there are three versions: the fire was caused by a sheet (used to divide individual spaces inside the jail halls) that caught on fire due to a lit candle; a sheet made contact with an electric stove in use by an inmate; two electric wires made contact and caused the fire.
The fire started near the only entrance to the hall where 480 inmates were living. For many inmates, it was a choice of dying or getting burned.
On Sunday and Monday, thousands of persons visited the jail to get information on their relatives and friends.
Balaguer presidential candidate impugned
Relatives of assassinated journalist Orlando Martínez, murdered 17 March 1975, and requested that the Junta Central Electoral, the court in charge of organizing the 2000 presidential election, reject the candidacy of former President Joaquín Balaguer. Balaguer is running for president on the PRSC ticket. The JCE is in the process of approving the candidacies presented by the political parties.
Balaguer was President of the Republic at the time of the Martínez murder. In a self-biographical book, he left a blank page indicating that it would be filled with the information on who the murders of Martínez were, upon his death.
The relatives have requested that Judge Francisco Ortega order his arrest for hiding evidence and complicity in the case.
The case involves several high-ranking military officers of the Balaguer administration. While it has been investigated on several occasions, it is said that political implications have impeded its conclusion. The alleged murder recently was extradited from the US to stand trial.
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jorge Subero Isa said that 25 years is sufficient time for the case to have been resolved by the judiciary.
Fund to develop cinematography in DR created
Santiago cardiologist Salomón Jorge donated RD$1 million to create a fund to promote cinematography in the DR. The fund would be in the name of his son, Jean Louis Jorge. Jean Louis Jorge was recently murdered in his Gazcue apartment in Santo Domingo. The police say they have no concrete leads, and do not discard versions that indicate that the appliances that were stolen from his apartment were to mislead the police into thinking that the motive was theft.
Dr. Jorge made the announcement when attending an art exhibition in the memory of his son, who is known as one of the leading Dominican cinematographers.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Santo Domingo
The Santo Domingo Film Festival, dedicated to the memory of Jean Louis Jorge, one of the most renown Dominican cinematographers of all times, is showing at the Cinema Center (1-2) movie theaters. Films from Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Germany, and Cuba will be participating. Among the films are:
El Valle, Venezuela, by Gustavo Balza.
En Brazos de la mujer madura, by Manuel Lombardero
El cometa, by Marisa Sistach
Quien diablo es Julieta, by Carlos Marcovich.
Das Trio, Hermine Hunfgel (Germany)
Cuba Libre, by David Riondino
El dia que murió el silencio, (Bolivia) by Paola Agazzi.
Un Hombre de éxito, by Humberto Solás (Cuba).
Hasta cierto punto, by Tomas Galea (Cuba).
Las profecías de Amdana, by Pastor Vega (Cuba).
Se permuta y plaff, by Juan Carlos Tabio (Cuba).
Dios y el diablo en la tierra del sol, by Glauber Rocha (Brazil).
Government or private sector to build Olympic Village?
For months the Dominican Olympic directors and the Ministry of Public Works have told Dominicans that the Santo Domingo Pan Am Games' village would not cost Dominican taxpayers a penny. The village would be a private real estate development.
This was taken as fact. Nevertheless, several developments have spurred more questions than answers in recent weeks.
The press and curious citizens are now asking if the government was not telling all the truth in regards to the construction of the Pan American Olympic Village.
Will it be a case similar to the "no bill increases for 4 years" of the privatization of the CDE?
The government for months told Dominicans that electricity bills would be frozen for four years. After privatization, Dominicans learned differently, with most city residents experiencing significant hikes in their billing.
Hoy newspaper page two writer (Coctelera) is asking the same questions.
Why has the Dominican government started the estimated RD$30 million cost of the ground excavations necessary to build the towers and their parking area if this was supposedly in the contract as responsibility of the private developers?
Who won the contest and what kind of a tender was it after all? The government pre-qualified the participants of the contest, narrowing these down to three. The best bid would build five, the runner up three, and the third of the three would build one. This indeed was a strange competitive solicitation, but engineer Roque Napoleón Muñoz's prestige lead to no doubts about its legitimacy.
First, the actual date of the bid had to be postponed when two of the companies had trouble getting financing. First the government announced the order of the winners. Then the government announced that only one of the three companies was able to secure financing. Meanwhile, the government has been doing the ground excavations. Coctelera writes that its sources indicate that well reputed engineer Roque Napoleón Muñoz wanted to declare the contest annulled because eventually none of the builders had secured the financing to build the towers to specifications. But apparently, his role with the Olympic Village has been terminated by more influential sectors, speculates Hoy newspaper.
Coctelera points out that the specifications for the 700 apartments are to build deluxe dwellings, complete with gypsum ceiling borders, mahogany doors, and first class ceramic floors. The estimated cost per apartment is RD$2.3 million. Coctelera explains that real estate developers say it is difficult that the return will be recuperated because of the area where it is located, on the Av. John F. Kennedy overlooking small mechanic shops, slums and an industrial area of the city on the north side, plus an inordinate high density.
Coctelera also asks why the project needs congressional endorsement. Coctelera speculates that what is behind the deal is that the company that "won" the bid, a Spanish-Dominican consortium, needs the Dominican government to serve as guarantor for the loans they will be getting from a pool of banks head by the Bilbao Vizcaya of Spain. If the developers were to go bankrupt, Dominican taxpayers would have to pay the loans in the predetermined five year period.
Coctelera criticizes the lack of transparency of the contest. The Dominican Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Public Works had sold the idea that the only cost for the Dominican state would be the lot on which the apartments would go up. The government obtained the lot in a swap for shares with the Sociedad Industrial Dominicana.
DR defeats Montserrat and advanced in World Soccer Cup round
Dominicana Republic defeated Montserrat 3-1 to advance to the next qualifying round of the Caribbean Zone 3 of the World Soccer Cup Korea-Japan 2000. Luis Omar Sánchez, Vladimir Gregorio and Omar Zapata were responsible for the three Dominican goals. Wayne Dyer delivered Montserrat's only goal. The match took place in Trinidad & Tobago. The DR had won earlier confrontations with Montserrat and Haiti. The DR had never gotten so far in a World Soccer Cup competition. The DR now needs to play against the winner of the Trinidad & Tobago and Netherlands Antilles round.
Paul Taylor Dance Company
The Paul Taylor Dance Company (www.ptdc.org) will perform in Santo Domingo 24 and 25 March at the National Theater. The group will perform in a benefit for the Fundacion Mir in La Romana. Fundación Ritmos por la Danza brings this company to Santo Domingo. The company has toured 650 cities in 60 countries and was appointed cultural ambassador of the United States in the program Millennium Council of the White House.
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