Almost all of the Dominican papers carried the smiling faces of Presidents Chavez of Venezuela and Mejia of the Dominican Republic, locked in a firm handshake and exuding Bonhomie. Chavez and Mejia were reported to have conversed on the discord caused by the latter's accusation of an assassination plot being hatched in the Dominican Republic. The lack of what was considered in Venezuela to be an adequate response, led to the stoppage of Venezuelan oil shipments to the DR. Sunday's Hoy newspaper reported that President Chavez announced that relations between the two countries to have been "normalized". According to the report filed by Manuel Jimenez, Chavez told reporters that the respective foreign ministers have been instructed to get together immediately to restore all diplomatic, commercial and petroleum relations. Dominican Foreign Minister Frank Guerrero Prats said that the heads of the two nation's petroleum entities should also meet soon. Guerrero Prats also referred to President Vicente Fox of Mexico and his promise to create a mechanism to free up US$200 million in loans that the DR is entitled to access under the San Jose Accord.
President Hipolito Mejia will be signing five agreements today as he wraps up his trip to South America that has reported brought about better relations with Venezuela and Mexico. The five bilateral agreements will be signed in Brazilia, following two days of official visits with Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Da Silva (Lula). One of the agreements deals with investment guarantees and another with extradition. Mejia will give a speech at the opening of the meeting on Promoting Political Consensus with relation to Development Objectives for the Millenium in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Listin Diario reported Saturday that Enrique Iglesias, president of the Inter American Development Bank would submit a US$300 million proposal for the Dominican Republic to the IDB board. Iglesias told reporters in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, that the Dominican government had put together an economic plan to solve the crisis that is currently affecting the country. The IDB chief also said that the International Monetary Fund has agreed to the general outlines for the Dominican recovery plan. Iglesias informed that the disbursements would be fast- tracked, in the same fashion as the US$100 million that was paid out last week to support government social programs.
The economic section of the Listin Diario announced that the Smith-Enron generating facility in Puerto Plata had re-entered the system, providing a much needed 100 megawatts of power to the energy-starved Cibao region. According to reporter Jairon Severino, the generator returned to service after the government made a token US$30 million dollar payment on the US$375 million dollar debt that is owed to the generators. According to Severino, sources close to the generating sector told reporters that the government had reached a mutually agreeable payment schedule with Smith-Enron. Other sources were were less amenable, as they said that the US$30 million, divided among the eight generating facilities did not give them much leeway. By the end of the week the deficit in energy had reached 562 megawatts, down from the 704-megawatt deficit reported earlier. The Cibao Valley, suffering 20-hour blackouts for most of the past two weeks, should see a small improvement in service with the Smith-Enron's return. As of late, a slight improvement has been noted in electricity service since the return of 210 megawatts to the national electric system. Smith-Enron and the Sultana del Este in San Pedro de Macoris entered into service over the weekend. Although the Puerto Plata facility is not yet producing at full capacity, there has been a marked improvement in electric supply throughout the area. As measured by El Caribe, the blackouts in various areas of Santo Domingo were down from 14 to 20 hours to periods of 4 to 5 hours. The CDEEE paid US$30 million dollars to the generators at the end of last week.
The torrential downpours that have been felt in the North of the Dominican Republic, and especially in the Cibao Valley, have forced authorities to open five of the six floodgates on the Tavera Dam. The inclement weather has forced hundreds to seek shelter on higher ground and caused the loss of several dozen homes. The Listin Diario and the El Caribe reported that the National Emergency Commission, meeting in Santiago and headed by the Vice President, issued a warning to all those living in the lower reaches of the Yaque del Norte river to take precautions because of the abnormal water levels of the river. The floods have affected houses in areas such as Villa Tapia, El Tablon, Las Carreras and Ojo de Agua, in the center of the valley.
The Internal Revenue office has announced a two-week extension for car and jeep owners to renew their license plates. The DGII was forced to go back on the Decree 726-03 that said that the absolute limit for getting the new plates would be the 15 November. As of today, about 300,000 vehicles have renewed their plates, but at least double that number still have to get the new metallic license plates.
According to the front-page story in the El Caribe, there are 77 propane stations in the city of Santo Domingo, several of which are operating outside the law. Last week one propane facility located in the Villas Agricolas area exploded, injuring dozens and causing panic across a six block area of upper Santo Domingo. While the Fire Department has yet to submit its final report on the accident, people are already looking for damages, and more "injured" are being reported all the time, according to Miguel Soto, the spokesman for the Santo Domingo Fire Department. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has begun a study to determine the location of the propane distributors, especially since the owners of the damaged facility have said, according to neighbors, that they will be open for business by this Sunday.
El Caribe reports that the makers of the most popular beers in the Dominican Republic, Presidente, Quisqueya and Bohemia, have been forced to raise prices by 13%, due to increased costs. This hike is the latest in a total of 23% in price increases this year. In a press statement read by the Dominican Association of Beer Manufacturers (ADOFACE) spokesperson, Ana Isabel Acosta, the breweries said that they had been trying to keep the prices stable. A case of large-bottle Presidente will go from RD$620 to RD$704 and the smaller sized bottles will go from RD$300 a box to RD$487, according to the paper. Owners of small shop owners ("colmados") have been reporting a sharp drop in sales.
According to Jairon Severino of the economic section of the Listin Diario, exports of non-traditional farm products have risen at an annual rate of 12.9% over the past ten years. With this in mind, the Dominican Agro-Business Board (JAD) is proposing a program to support these items. With traditional agricultural exports (sugar, tobacco, coffee and cacao) falling nearly 3% a year, the news that the non-traditional products are growing in the export market is being well-received. Organic foodstuffs, and products destined for specific ethnic markets are among the leading new exports.
Representatives of wholesalers, retailers and importers gathered at Hoy newspaper's offices to discuss the possible effects of the proposals made last week by the National Council of Private Business (CONEP). In summary, the group called the proposals inflationary, saying that the proposed indexation would cause gasoline to rise to RD$100 per gallon. One speaker, Domingo Espinal Collado said that the proposals, especially those that referred to a universal VAT would turn the Dominican Republic into a "powder keg" waiting to go off. Espinal Collado was also very critical of the agreement signed last week between the Dominican Export Association and the government, whereby the exporters would voluntarily give the government RD$1 for every dollar exported. Manuel Cabrera, a spokesman for the Dominican Association of Wholesale Importers (ASDAI) told Aleida Placencia of Hoy newspaper that the current economic situation prevents businessman from doing any planning because of the uncertainty over "what will happen tomorrow."
According to the Listin Diario and Hoy newspapers, the PRD party of President Hipolito Mejia has convened two nominating conventions. One of the conventions is being organized by Peggy Cabral and the re-electionist wing of the party -an ironic occurrence in view of the fact that Cabral is the widow of Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, the PRD leader who was an outspoken opponent of presidential re-election. Participants would be Hipolito Mejia, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, Rafael Subervi and Enmanuel Esquea, the top-ranked PRD pre candidates. This convention is set for 15 December. The second convention is being organized by party president Hatuey De Camps and the remaining presidential hopefuls. The PRD's national executive committee decided that De Camps would choose the date for their convention. According to De Camps 1,071 of the 1,600 members of the national executive committee attended the meeting he chaired at the International Socialist offices. De Camps extended an olive branch to the PPH and the rest of the re-election faction, telling them they would "have to reconsider (their position) and understand that in this organization (the PRD) re-election is not possible" and that victory over Leonel Fernandez would be possible with a "united and non-re-election candidate."
The PRSC political party is also on the verge of division because of internal struggles. Over the weekend, the PRSC party that was left leaderless with the death of Joaquin Balaguer, seemed to be facing a split. Last Friday, the party faction that is headed by former VP Jacinto Peynado, was expelled from the party. Carlos Morales Troncoso , also a former Vice President, Donald Reid Cabral and other members loyal to the Peynado faction met at the San Carlos gymnasium in Santo Domingo and decided to expel party president Rafael Bello Andino and Eduardo Estrella, the party candidate. Estrella, elected as party candidate after nationwide voting several months ago, now faces a serious division in the party that governed for 22 years and is now considered to be the third ranked party in the country. On a curious note, as reported by Roberto Brito of the Listin Diario, the assembly called by the Peynado faction was attended by delegations from the PRD and the PLD parties.
Dominican political parties do not seem to be much affected by the current economic crisis, having spent RD$46.5 million on publicity since September. Leonel Fernandez leads the way with RD$12 million spent on TV spots. The combined televised ad campaigns have cost the various candidates nearly one quarter of the RD$204 million allocated in the budget to the political parties. El Caribe says the money spent on TV advertisements is equivalent to 23,000 minimum wages, and only includes the television space, not the cost of producing the spots themselves. Strangely enough, the second place spender was Eduardo Estrella of the PRSC with RD$11 million, followed by Rafael Subervi with RD$7 million and the incumbent President Hipolito Mejia with RD$6 million. Presidential Press spokesman, Luis Gonzalez Fabra told El Caribe that the President does not have any campaign running on TV, explaining that the promotions are merely on his encounters in the provinces.
Hoy newspaper reports a toll of five arrests, one death and one injured, following a joint operation of Dominican and Haitian forces, in which 77-year old cattleman Benigno Lantigua was rescued from his captors in Poningo, Haiti, over the weekend. A 30-year old ex-policeman was killed and a former member of the army was wounded. The dead kidnapper was fished out of the Thoplen River and handed over to the Dominican authorities. According to Dominican police representatives, four men were arrested during the rescue, but many more are being detained for questioning. Lantigua was abducted early on the morning of 6 November, as he supervised the milking process near Monte Llano, Puerto Plata, and his kidnappers were demanding a ransom of a half million dollars. Brigadier General Maximo Peralta Rodriguez told reporters Diego Pesquera, Ysmenia Furcal and Narciso Perez that while there were six or seven individuals directly involved, perhaps as many as 20 people being held for investigation in Puerto Plata would be transferred to Santo Domingo.
The Listin Diario reports that 450 families were left without homes in the wake of the recent flooding that affected as many as 2,000 houses along the rivers of the Cibao Valley. Authorities also established a "yellow alert" for persons residing below Hatillo dam, since the overflow could cause local flooding. The head of the National Emergency Committee, Rear Admiral Radhames Lora Salcedo, told reporters that 26 people had been evacuated from the area near the San Rafael de Yuna bridge and placed in temporary shelters belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture. The "red alert" is remains in effect for inhabitants of the lower Yaque del Norte River, as far as Monte Cristi. According to Lora Salcedo, as many as 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes as the flooding began, although many have since returned to their dwellings. According to Silvio Carrasco, the head of the National Institute for Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), over 10,000 acres of farmland under cultivation had been flooded in the Northwest. Rice crops, plantains and grazing lands have been affected. Carrasco was effusive in his praise of the effective use of the Tavera-Bao and Moncion dams that prevented greater flooding. Flooding was reported in Valverde, La Guajaca, Hatillo Palma, Laguna Salada, El Ahogado and Palo Verde.
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