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Enforcing the rules of farming The Ministry of Agriculture is enforcing a ruling that bans the planting of rice until January 2003. To do so, the Ministry has ordered the fumigation and even burning of fields that are planted in violation of the ruling. Minister of Agriculture Eligio Jaquez explained that there is a surplus of rice supplies. In the past, farmers have planted and then demanded that the government buy the crops if regular markets could not be found for the produce. This has led to a situation where today the government has had to export surplus rice to Venezuela at a RD$450 million loss. Jaquez says this situation is unbearable and can be avoided if farmers only plant produce for which there is a market. The fumigating of the rice fields to deter planting has made headlines now that one of the affected producers is reportedly none other than General Pedro de Jesus Candelier Tejada, a former chief of the Police and today director of the Metropolitan Transport Authority. |
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Commission to assist movie-producers The National Movie Commission has been entrusted with the task of attracting foreign film companies to the Dominican Republic. Danilo Del Rosario, director of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investments (OPI-DR) said that film-producer Juan Basanta, who is the son of Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, is the commission’s first director. Basanta said that Mario Vargas Llosa’s “La fiesta del chivo” will be filmed here in 2003. Decree 934-02 creates the new office that will assist film producers. |
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The Church vs. Mejia? When President Mejia was asked to comment on a Sunday sermon by Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez on Dominicans’ increasing despair regarding the economic situation in the country, he implied the Catholic Church had its own share of problems. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez had mentioned the despair affecting the Dominican people, compounded by the inflation and devaluation of the peso. President Mejia instead of commenting directly on the statement, preferred to refer the Cardinal to the concern on the pedophile problems in the United States that recently caused the Cardinal of Boston to resign. “There are concerns everywhere,” said Mejia. “I was commenting to the Cardinal yesterday (Sunday) that I am also concerned with what has happened in Boston, to the Cardinal there,” Mejia told reporters on Monday. The Catholic Church of the Dominican Republic did not like President Mejia’s resonse. In an open letter, the church warns the authorities of the dangers of not taking the nation’s current economic problems seriously. The Archidiocesan Council of the Catholic Church urges the authorities to make the socio-political and economic decisions to restore the happiness and confidence to the country, as reported in El Caribe. |
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Mejia calls Dominicans pessimists As reported in the Listin Diario today, President Mejia asked those that are depressed and pessimistic about the present difficulties to always have confidence in the future of the Dominican Republic. He said that despite the international crisis, the Dominican Republic has the healthiest economy and will end this year with a 4% growth rate. |
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3% GDP growth forecast for 2003 The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published yesterday their year ending report “Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002”, in which it estimates the Dominican Republic economy will grow 3 to 3.5% in 2003. The document also reveals a year ending inflation of 8.8% for 2002, twice as much as last year, fueled by the increase in energy prices (+100%), wages (+6%) and the peso devaluation (+20%). Furthermore it points out the noteworthy increases in public spending, the decrease in international reserves and the increase in the balance of trade. On the positive side, the report forecasts there will be a decrease in the unemployment rate and a growth of 4% during 2002. Latin American economic activity in general is expected to fall 0.5% in 2002. The economies most affected include Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, while the rest have seen gross domestic product (GDP) stagnate. For the second year in a row, per capita GDP growth in Latin America and the Caribbean was negative (-1.9%). The region has already experienced half a decade of low economic growth amidst adverse conditions in the world economy, according to ECLAC. To see the report, go to http://www.eclac.org |
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Thumbs down on Operation Centella Yesterday soldiers from the Dominican Armed Forces and the Police hit the streets early in the morning stopping drivers of cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks on several main highways and city streets nationwide. The Operation Centella (lightning) was carried out to find illegally-held weapons. The frisking of vehicles caused long traffic jams and major inconveniences to the hundreds of thousands that were caught unaware. The National Council of Private Business (Conep) issued a written communique criticizing the operation. Conep called the operation antiquated and barbaric, for the major delays in free transit it caused to the people. The organization denounced the negative effects the operation had on normal activities of businesses and the Dominican people. Conep recommended the government find other alternatives to fight crime. Colonel Vicente Cruz defended the operation on grounds that 40 guns and another 408 knives were found. |
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Energy bill will be lower in January The Superintendence of Electricity announced yesterday that the rate per kilowatt hour (kWh) will be less in January, because in the months of October and November the price of oil in the international markets fell. It would be the first time that the energy tariff drops since the new structure of billing, which started in September. Since the change in tariffs, the billing rate per kWh has increased more than 107%. |
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French investment surpasses US$400 million French ambassador Jean-Claude Moyret estimates French investments in the Dominican Republic have surpassed the US$400 million level. He expects French companies to continue to invest in the Dominican Republic. He said that French investments are concentrated in the areas of telecommunications, retail stores, tourism and liquor businesses. He said the growing level of investment shows the confidence French companies have in the Dominican economy. Dominicans need to become more familiar with transactions in Euros, Moyret said. He forecast that the Euro would become the most important world currency in a few years. Though the USA is the Dominican Republic’s most important trading partner, Moyret urged the DR to nurture increased commercial relations with European countries such as France. |
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Adoexpo favors changes to Investment Law The Association of Dominican Exporters (Adoexpo) backs changes to the Foreign Investment Law to reduce the repatriation of dollars by companies operating in the Dominican Republic that do not generate hard currency. The director of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investment, Danilo del Rosario, has said that the bill would be modified to include incentives to companies to reinvest their earnings in the Dominican Republic. Horacio Alvarez, director of Adoexpo, and representatives from the Federation of Industrial Associations and the Association of Ranchers and Farmers expressed their support for such changes, but were careful to mention that foreign companies that operate in DR that do generate dollars should not be discouraged. Alvarez said that he is mainly concerned with the energy companies whose repatriation of earnings he feels should be regulated by the government. |
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Dominicans in the US feel discriminated Eighty nine percent (89%) of the Dominicans resident in the US believe that discrimination is a current problem that limits their possibilities in the United States. A study done by Pew Hispanic Center and The Kaiser Family Foundation reveals that 52% of Dominicans living in the US believe that discrimination in schools is severe, while 53% see the same situation in the working environment. The survey was done to 2,929 Latinos and out of those 238 where Dominicans. In general all Latinos feel that discrimination is severe in the US. In the last five years more than 30% had experienced direct discrimination while living in the US. Dominicans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans were the ones who gave more importance to the color of their skin. See the survey at http://www.kff.org/content/2002/20021217a/ |
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Human sexuality investigation stirs up concerns Research by the Institute of Human Sexuality in the Dominican Republic has stirred up new concerns with specialists, as reported in El Caribe. Some 187 students of both sexes were interviewed in October. The research showed that condoms are not used much and that young women are feeling pain during intercourse and not pleasure. Dr. Rafael Garcia, director of the Institute, expressed his concern that young women, especially those between 16 and 24 years of age, are experiencing what he described as painful and uncomfortable sex. More than 40% of the women surveyed had a sex life, 25% said they had never had an orgasm, 59% feel pain during sex and 42% do not use a condom. Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed are single, 54% have a stable relationship with their boyfriend, 55% only has one partner and 28% has had multiple partners. |
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Partying on the Malecon Brugal and Channel 13 (Telecentro) will be sponsoring Santo Domingo’s New Year bash again this year. The merengue bands Hermanos Rosario, Wilfrido Vargas, Jossie Esteban, Fernando Villalona and Kinito Mendez have been hired by Brugal to play that evening. Frank Reyes and the duo of Monchy Alexandra will be adding the bachata music touch to the evening of the 31st. This year the show will take place around the Malecon Obelisk, with the backdrop of the Hermanas Mirabal painting by Amaya Salzar. Luis Concepcion, public relations director for Brugal, said that the Malecon area will be closed off to traffic on the 31st. He promised a night of lights, good sound, giant screens and fireworks. Telecentro, Channel 13 will be televising the event into the early morning hours. The Dominican tradition is to party all night and then head to the Malecon to watch the first sunset of the year. |
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Baseball standings Teams W L Diff. Aguilas 30 15 --- Estrellas 25 20 5 Escogido 24 21 6 Gigantes 24 21 6 Licey 17 28 13 Azucareros 15 30 15 |
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