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RD$25,000 Christmas baskets for deputies Poor Dominicans are concerned about the increase in the cost of bread from RD$1 to RD$2. But there is apparently no need for austerity in the Chamber of Deputies. Lila Claus distributed her customary RD$25,000 Christmas gift boxes to her 149 colleagues. Diario Libre and the Listin Diario focus on the generous treasure boxes that contain bottles of Don Perignon champagne, Carlos I brandy, and imported cheese and delicacies. | ||
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Battle for power in Congress? The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are in an apparent battle for power. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Lila Alburquerque sent to commission the bill that authorizes the government to seek the placement of US$600 million in sovereign bonds. The deputies are conditioning the passing of this bill to the senators passing a bill that makes changes in the Electoral Law. Andres Bautista Garcia told the Listin Diario that he felt that the deputies were pressuring the senators to pass the electoral reforms before they in turn, would pass the bond issue. | ||
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The Wild Wild West in the Chamber of Deputies In a scene reminiscent of the 18th and 19th centuries, two deputies apparently tried to pull their weapons and threatened to carry out a duel at the very door to the Chamber of Deputies. Historical prints show legislators from various countries discharging their weapons during a legislative session, and this is not the first time this has happened in Santo Domingo either. Ramon Bueno and Rafael Castillo, both PRD, carried out this amazing display of machismo and dirty politics in plain view of the other congressmen. Apparently Castillo had received a reprimand from President Mejia when he joined in a boycott of legislators that did not vote in favor of a US$17 million dollar loan to provide fencing and signage for the country’s highways. During a meeting with the President, Bueno and the spokesman for the PRD, Alfredo Pacheco, supposedly gave Mejia a list of that party’s congressmen that did not vote for the loan. Later yesterday, the President called in the legislators, Castillo among them, and gave them a stern reprimand. Hours later, at the Congress, the two legislators met at the entrance to the Chamber of Deputies and exchanged some strong language. Castillo accused Bueno of being a spy. Bueno replied that Castillo should keep quiet since he (Castillo) “had been taken out of INESPRE, handcuffed as a thief and swindler.” Castillo replied that Bueno had sold his vote for re-election of Hipolito Mejia in exchange for a contract and “they have just given you another contract.” | ||
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Solicitor General and birth certificates Solicitor General Virgilio Bello Rosa told reporters yesterday that the Constitution of the Dominican Republic states that every child born in the Dominican Republic be recognized as a Dominican, with just a few exceptions. For example, he said, children that are born to parents in transit or to diplomats or to contracted sugar cane workers or who are here temporarily are not considered Dominicans. Reporters asked Bello Rosa to comment on the ruling of Judge Samuel Arias Arzeno who ordered Dominican citizenship granted to two Haitians reportedly born in the Dominican Republic of undocumented Haitian parents. The sentence reads: “The constitutional principle should be strictly applied, in this way all who are born in the Dominican Republic are Dominicans, irregardless of the legality or not of the parents, nationals or foreigners, because this is a right not attributable to the parents, but to the children born in Dominican territory.” When Bello Rosa was asked about this yesterday, he said that he did not know the circumstances behind the judge’s decision but that “in this case we are talking about undocumented Haitians, but if the children had been Europeans or North Americans or from any other country, we would not be having this conversation.” Deputy Pelegrin Castillo urges the Supreme Court to overrule the judgement. He has expressed is concern that to uphold the decision of the judge would open the doors fully to an exodus of impoverished Haitians. | ||
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Pepe treated with white gloves Rumbo newsweekly magazine focuses this week on the extreme considerations being given to former presidential security chief, Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico. Goico was detained for credit fraud against Baninter bank that has never pressed charges and had issued limitless credit cards to Goico and his relatives, supposedly to pay for expenses related to President Hipolito Mejia’s travels abroad. The newsweekly mentions that while Goico is kept in the air-conditioned quarters at the Ministry of Armed Forces, Pezzoti and Diaz, who were also detained for the same case, are kept in close confinement at the Navy. Diario Libre says that Goico was barely questioned, while the other two were subject to long hours of questioning. Diario Libre reports that the case that has been prepared leaves open too many questions, especially regarding the way the investigation and questionings were carried out. | ||
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Old conflicts threaten blackouts The decree that prohibits blackouts during the Christmas season might become worthless due to generation problems. According to a note in the El Expreso newspaper, Antonio Pantoja, general manager of Edenorte and Edesur is attributing the new crisis of blackouts to old debts of the CDE with several electricity generators. The Listin Diario says the Smith-Enron generator in Puerto Plata, that produces 180 megawatts, could shut down because of a US$6.5 million dollar that should have been paid yesterday. The Los Mina VI generator in Santo Domingo is having trouble obtaining fuel and might also have to shut down. Julio Cross, the Superintendent of Power, told the press that he did not think that the Smith-Enron plant would shut down since the government would make the needed payments. | ||
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Profits reinvestment should be encouraged Danilo del Rosario, head of the Investment Promotion Office (OPI-DR) favors changing the foreign investment law to make re-investing earnings in the Dominican Republic more attractive. Del Rosario told reporters that 35% of the foreign capital invested in the Dominican Republic is borrowed from foreign banks and that interest payments and capital has to be repaid in dollars. By making reinvestment more attractive, he feels as much as 70% of the money now being repatriated could be kept in the country. He says that companies reinvested US$600 million of their capital in 2002, and he feels that the proposed changes would bring this figure to US$1 billion dollars. Over the weekend, Silvio Herasme Peña, one of the Dominican Republic’s most respected journalists, published a long op-ed article in the Listin Diario that seems, in retrospect, to be part of the arguments given by Del Rosario. It seems that economist Arturo Martinez Moya had given out his opinion on the Errors and Omissions Account in the Central Bank. Martinez, who was at one time the director for economic studies at the Central Bank, a former Minister of Industry and Commerce, and currently a member of the board of directors of the Banco de Reservas of the DR, said that the Errors and Omissions account was used for under-evaluated imports but that the application of the GATT accords had reduced these to practically zero. As DR1 News has reported, this account is now over US$800 million dollars. When asked to account for the sum of US$850 million dollars in this account, Martinez Moya said that obviously someone was sending money out of the country. Who could it be? Martinez Moya did not hesitate to say “Union Fenosa”. DR1 News had published last month a short account of the request by Edeste and Edenorte to exchange RD$250 million pesos. According to the journalist, Martinez Moya’s statements only confirm what had been speculation: The Spanish companies that have the country on the edge of collapse with their blackouts have become a type of “vacuum cleaner for dollars” by using the Dominican pesos that they acquire through loans to purchase dollars and take them out of the country. Herasme Peña calls this a “tremendous and heartless fraud” if it proves to be true, and this was why he was so impressed by Martinez Moya’s statements on the TV panel show on Sunday morning. These statements are very serious and merit a lot of attention on the part of the authorities, according to Herasme Peña. | ||
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Why is the money leaving the DR? Economist Frederic Emam Zade says that the flight of capital is caused by nothing else than the implementation of wrong economic policies by the government. He said that if the policies were changed, the flight of capital would stop. He disputed supposed government plans to deter foreign investors from expatriating their earnings as absurd. He said then the government would also have to put a “corralito”, or financial playpen, to Dominican businessmen as well that are actually exporting much more foreign exchange than the foreigners. Dominicans have deposited abroad an estimated US$8 billion dollars. Emam Zade called it absurd (to use as evidence the flight of capital) the equation that US$992.8 million in profits were expatriated and only US$658.8 million entered as foreign investment, for a supposed net exodus of US$334 million. He explained that the flow of profits of one year is not comparable to the investment made in one year. | ||
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American Chamber of Commerce survey The business sector is worried about high taxes, energy and financial costs, as well as the rising cost of imported raw materials and merchandise. According to the Third Business Survey carried out by the American Chamber of Commerce, on a scale from one to eight (1 to 8), 86 % of those surveyed said that these were the most important factors in production costs along with wages. Nearly 60% of the surveyed reported that sale process for manufactured goods had risen considerably in the third trimester of the year. | ||
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Al Gore favors trade Visiting former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, expressed his approval of a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and the Dominican Republic. The signing of such an agreement should be the next step in strengthening the commercial ties between the two nations. During his talk on “Democracy and Development in the Time of Globalization,” at the Iberoamerican University in Santo Domingo, the high-ranking member of the Democratic Party of the United States told his audience that the Dominican Republic should occupy its place as one of the leading business partners of the United States. “We should include the Dominican Republic in the list along with Canada, Mexico and Brazil,” Gore said to his select audience of politicians, businessmen and civic leaders. Gore reminded his audience that as Vice President, he had organized the Americas Summit in 1994 and important themes such as integration and globalization were first discussed. He felt that development, on any scale, must protect human rights, the family and the ecology. Finally, the Vice President suggested that Dominican politicians might follow his example and turn towards the universities where they could find the opportunities for reflection and analysis, as well as knowledge. Al Gore surprised the US last weekend when he told “Meet the Press” that he would not run for office in 2004. In a latter press conference, he told reporters that he would dedicate his time to his family and to teaching. | ||
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DANR celebrates its 5th year The Washington,D.C.-based Dominican American National Roundtable is celebrating its 5th anniversary. The organization prides itself for being the only national organization that represents the interests of Dominican Americans across the United States and Puerto Rico. The organization has been incidental in the registering of many new US voters among Dominicans to increase the importance of Dominican residents. During its first five years, the organization has put together conferences focusing on important Dominican issues in Miami, Providence, New York and Washington. “While we are proud of our achievements over the last five years, we are very excited about our future plans,” said state senator-elect Juan Pichardo (RI), 2nd vice president of the DANR. “The DANR plans to host various events year round and throughout the country, such as a Dominican American Business Legislative Meeting during the summer, and our 6th Annual Conference in November 2003. Also, we are putting together the Dominican Leadership Institute. The Dominican Internship Program will continue this year, and the Dominican American Voter Registration Project will enter its second year of service.” | ||
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TV pioneer passes away Pedro Pablo Bonilla, founder of the first private Dominican television station Rahintel, died last night in his Arroyo Hondo home. He was 73 years old. He is recognized as one of the pioneers in the communications industry in the DR. He is remembered for the landmark color transmission of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon on 21 July 1969. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Olga Dominici, and his children, Manuel, Jose, Olga, Claudio and Pedro Pablo Bonilla and 10 grandchildren. | ||
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Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Puerto Plata The Association of Hotels of Puerto Plata is organizing the celebration of the 500 years of the city of Puerto Plata this coming weekend. Hans Dannenberg, new director of the association announced that activities are centered in the Plaza de la Cultura, the pedestrian area surrounding the Cathedral and Central Park in downtown Puerto Plata. The events include a Friday, 20 December 2002 ballet performance by leading dancers Victor Ramirez and Mercedes Morales. 6 pm. Casa de la Cultura (Fe en el Porvenir). Plaza de la Cultura. Live band presentations to follow with the participation of the municipality and Dominican Air Force bands. But most events will take place on Saturday, 21 December. For starters, four walking cultural tours will depart from the Casa de la Cultura (Fe en el Porvenir) at 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 am. In the evening, there will be artistic shows in the Plaza de la Cutlura starring Francisco Ulloa and his typical music group;Conjunto Musical PP500 with Pichi Lopez, Hector Zervigon, Enriquito Pichardo and Radhames Andujar; Nino Hernandez: Carlos Hart, Omaro Guerra; Rafael and Esperanza Perez Cid’s Duo Los Dominicanos; and Angel Redondo, Ricardo Brugal, Johanna Goede Also part of the events commemorating the 500th anniversary is a display of Puerto Plata handicrafts and typical foods including: Matagallegos, Los Aliados de Jery Gilbert, Los Dulces de Agustina y Felta, Galletas de Julia, Chula Mia y Pajuelitas, Kipes de Bojos, Dulces de Josy, Empanadas de Catibia, Frituras, Pan de Maiz y Batata, Jalao y Canquiña, Casabe, Guarapo, etc. In the evening, there will also be a celebration of Puerto Plata carnival characters as of 7 pm, and a Puerto Plata Victorian Fashion Show that same evening at 8 pm. For more information, contact the Association of Hotels of Puerto Plata at Casa Olivares, Calle Beller No. 72 esq. Calle Villanueva, Tel. 809 261-1335 and 809 261-4441/Fax 809 320-0872 or call Hans Dannnenberg at 809 879-5008 or email hansahpp@hotmail.com The Association of Hotels of Puerto Plata is made up of the 20 leading hotels of Playa Dorada, Maimon, Cofresi, Costa Dorada, and Puerto Plata. | ||
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