President Leonel Fernandez is pushing for joint elections in 2012. According to the President, holding elections every two years is "tiring". El Caribe says that the Chief Executive is proposing the 2012 scenario whereby Presidential, municipal and Congressional elections would be held the same year, although not on the same date. In fact, the President was careful to add that what he was saying was just a proposal. The Presidential election would be held on 16 May, as usual, and the Congressional and municipal elections would be held on 16 July. The President made his remarks as the final speaker at a seminar on Municipal government and Constitutional Reform that included all the country's mayors. According to the proposal, the 2010 Congressional and municipal elections would elect candidates for a two-year term, with the possible caveat that the same candidates could run in 2012. Perhaps the most positive aspect of the Presidential proposal was the fact that the elections would be separate, thus eliminating the "coattail" effect of so many past elections.
While some of the nation's newspapers were polling "the man in the street", Diario Libre asked two prominent political scientists, Cesar Perez and Pedro Catrain for their opinions. They shared the opinion that the proposal would be a retrograde step that would annul one of the Dominican people's most important achievements. Catrain said that mid-term elections serve as a barometer for measuring the success or failure of a government's policies. Both experts said that the mid-term elections strengthen local leadership and avoid any "riding of the coattails" by less gifted politicians. These elections also promote decentralization of state powers. According to Catrain, President Fernandez made his proposals because he is an immensely popular figure who would surely pull in the voters to choose his party's candidates for municipal and Congressional office.
Diario Libre's page two columnist Homero Figueroa makes an interesting point while discussing this issue. He points out that the President has brought up the unification of the Congressional and Presidential elections at a time when the focus, otherwise, is on the government's proposed tax increases. "This is the old political tactic of a new debate served to chill a heated debate that is ongoing in the press," he concludes. "For Fernandez, it is easier to present arguments in favor of the unifying of the elections than on the need for new taxes," he writes.
Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa's announcement of VAT increases on a series of basic food items has both consumers and traders in a twitter. Cooking oil, chocolate, coffee, butter, margarine and sugar will soon be subject to the 16% rate from which they are currently exempt. The common cry is that these are items that affect the country's very poorest families as well as those who can afford to pay more. Right off the bat, the PRD's Cristian Paredes said that his party would not take part in any hearings about the new tax package. Diario Libre says that PLD deputy and president of the Chamber of Deputies, Julio Cesar Valentin, said that he felt it would be in the interest of all parties to listen to as many sectors as possible before approving any legislation. Traders are saying that a tax on items such as cooking oil will hurt ordinary consumers. Oil currently sells for RD$23 per pound and the new tax would increase this to RD$26.68, while brown sugar, currently at RD$13 pesos a pound would go up to RD$15 per pound. Coffee would reach nearly RD$100 per pound. A juice vendor told Diario Libre that he could not pass on the added cost on to his customers, for fear of losing business.
The Presidential Minister for Technical Affairs, Temistocles Montas, dismissed the idea that the new taxes would affect the poor. In his comments, Montas refuted the opinions of more than 600 organizations. According to the minister, as the whole country is set to benefit from the tax proposals, the poor would also benefit.
The International Monetary Fund wants to put an end to the DR's government subsidies on propane gas and electricity. However, the international financial organization has not drawn up any guidelines on just how to achieve this task, nor has it said just how to focus any reduced subsidies on the nation's very poorest citizens. IMF country representative Erik Offerdahl told Listin Diario reporter Jairon Severino that the IMF has not said a word about how to remove the supports. The electricity subsidy requires US$650 million (RD$21,775,000,000) per year. The propane subsidy costs the government RD$5.0 billion.
In a feature published over the weekend in Hoy newspaper, former Agribusiness Council (JAD) leader Jose Antonio Martinez Rojas suggests that the government cut some of the RD$3 billion spent on propaganda, eliminate the "complacent" credit cards for government officer no-limits spending that in his words, "lead to afternoons of drinks and snacks of up to RD$75,000 at taxpayers' expense", and reduce the President's foreign travel entourages. He comments that on the President's London trip earlier this year, the government paid expenses for over 30 people. He also says that major reductions could be made by reducing the excess numbers of staff members who are assigned to overseas embassies, including what he describes as "a bunch of parasites" appointed abroad but who live in the DR where they collect their wages. He also mentions the government's purchase of "1,500 luxury SUVs in the past two years" as superfluous expenses that could be reduced instead of increasing taxes.
The state-owned Banco Nacional de la Vivienda is reported to be offering loans for the purchase of vehicles for staff at the state university, the UASD. According to Diario Libre, the university authorities have signed an agreement by which professors and employees will be able to purchase a vehicle or a "jeepeta" under extremely advantageous market conditions that will mean savings of hundreds of thousands of pesos for those affiliated to the state university. The UASD will guarantee the loans, and purchase conditions will be at an unprecedented "below market price."
Santo Domingo hospitals, normally the nation's busiest, are nearly empty, and, with the exception of the occasional accident victim, most of the emergencies are of a minor nature. According to El Caribe, all emergencies from Friday to Sunday are associated with alcohol or food poisoning, and wounds sustained during fights or traffic accidents. However, even these causes have seen a significant decline over the last few months. According to the doctors on duty there has been at least a 30-35% decrease in emergency cases. One patient, suffering from an earache, told reporters that if there isn't any money circulating then there isn't any drunkenness. Reporter Petra Savinon visited Padre Billini, Luis E. Aybar and Francisco Moscoso Puello hospitals and found that most of the patients were children with flu and cold symptoms.
Verizon Dominicana admits that it is negotiating with the government about the taxes due on the sale of its assets in the Dominican Republic.
According to Verizon statements made to Diario Libre reporters, Verizon Holdings Canada has offered the government a way out of the impasse by offering to pay US$250 million in return for the Internal Revenue office (DGII) dropping its suit. Internal Revenue is asking for over twice that amount - US$518 million. According to sources at Verizon, the issue is now about simple presentation. One of the sticking points is that Verizon does not want this to appear as a tax payment.
There is a legal case ongoing in the Tax Disputes Court (Tribunal Contencioso Tributario), and the hearing has been postponed. Economic consultant Hector Guiliani says that to seek an out of the courts negotiated solution, while there is a hearing pending in court, is a violation of judicial system, as reported in Diario Libre.
President Fernandez's former chief of staff Danilo Medina, apparently an "eternal candidate", has hoisted his first billboard at the corner of 27 de Febrero and Abraham Lincoln Avenues in Santo Domingo. The billboard, an electronic marvel, proclaims Medina as the "reorganizer" and leader of the New Heading faction of the PLD.
The Dominican Republic has dropped to sixth place in the Latin American Globalization Index compiled by Latin Business Chronicle. The DR ranked second last year. This significant slip is explained by the fact that the DR's trade, tourism receipts and remittances as a percentage of GDP in 2005 fell compared to 2004, while the country boosted its Internet penetration slightly. According to Latin Business Chronicle, the decline in scores was largely due to GDP growing faster than trade, tourism receipts and remittances. Last year, the Dominican economy expanded by 9.3%, the highest growth rate in Latin America along with Venezuela. Despite this decline, the DR continues to be the Latin American leader in terms of tourism receipts as a percentage of GDP.
The DR was the only country out of the six DR-CAFTA signatories that did not improve its score last year. The DR-CAFTA signatory countries achieved an average score of 11.05, which was better than the Andean Community (8.17) and Mercosur (7.12).
The 19-country index looks at six factors that measure a country's links with the outside world. These are exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP, imports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP, foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP, tourism receipts as a percentage of GDP, remittances as a percentage of GDP and Internet penetration.
http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=541
As many as 70% of children in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic are born to Haitian parents. This, according to Otto Pena Guzman, is the case in Altagracia, La Romana and Hato Mayor provinces. Hoy newspaper confirmed this information in each of the areas mentioned and also found that the same applies in San Pedro de Macoris. According to the doctors, the problem is not the births or the caesarian sections, but rather the complications that the women arrive with. According to Dr. Pena Guzman, doctors are obliged to treat all humans, but that caesarians and further surgical procedures are expensive. According to the doctor, the hospitals in Higuey, Altagracia, Francisco Gonzalvo and Leopoldo Martinez, are not equipped to handle the large increase in births. These are spurred by the influx of Haitians and others looking for work in the building industry. Fortunately, and in spite of the increased numbers and the large numbers of underage pregnancies, the mortality rate is low.
Earlier this year, young Vanessa Ramirez was shot and killed by a young man who tried to steal her cellphone. This past week, The Vanessa Heartbeat and United Hearts of the Cibao Foundations joined forces to operate successfully on thirteen youngsters with cardiovascular problems. This brings to 140 the number of kids who have had operations this year. A team of 23 doctors from the United States and 12 from the Dominican Republic carried out the operations in Santiago's Arturo Grullon Children's Hospital. Vanessa's father, Dr. Juan Ramirez, told El Caribe that there were nearly 400 children with similar problems in the Cibao valley, who could be treated at the Children's Hospital. At the same hospital, 39 children suffering from cancer will receive chemotherapy thanks to a generous donation from the Southeast Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber donated half a million pesos to the childhood cancer program.
The Ministry of Culture has announced that this week is National Music Week, and next Sunday, 3 December, is Merengue Day. Maestro Luis Alberti is being honored with a centennial plaque at the Bellas Artes School in Santo Domingo today. Alberti is the composer of such famous merengue tunes as "Compadre Pedro Juan", "Sancocho Prieto", and "Lena" as well as the world famous "Luna Sobre el Jaragua". "Lena" is also the Aguilas Cibaenas baseball team's theme song. On Tuesday there will be a press conference at the National Theater announcing a Dominican Song Festival. On Wednesday, a floral offering will be placed at the tomb of Jose Reyes, the composer of the National Anthem, and a mass at the Cathedral with the first recital of the Hymn to Santa Cecilia by Rafael Solano and a new Our Father by maestro Papa Molina. The week ends with Jatnna Tavarez's production of Long Live the Merengue!
Second baseman Alfonso Soriano is a very happy man. He has just signed a contract worth RD$4.556 billion Dominican pesos or US$136 million for eight years' work in Chicago, Illinois. That is RD$569.5 million per year, RD$1.56 million per day and RD$65,000 per hour for the next eight years. He might be underpaid. While this is the fifth highest contract in the Major Leagues, Soriano belongs to a couple of very exclusive clubs; he is the newest member of the 40-40-20 Club (40 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 20 assists from the outfield). Only Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, and Barry Bonds are members of this club. He is also the sole member of the 40-40-40 Club, with 40 each of home runs, stolen bases and doubles. Soriano will be the substitute for San Pedro de Macoris' other star, Sammy Sosa in the hearts of the Chicago Cubs' fans.
The Aguilas Cibaenas won two games from Escogido before falling to the Gigantes de San Francisco de Macoris at home. The second placed Gigantes beat the Estrellas 2-1 in the Julian Javier Stadium in San Francisco de Macoris on Friday. On Saturday they were rained out in San Pedro de Macoris and on Sunday they beat the Aguilas 7-4 in Santiago. Licey beat the Toros from La Romana on Friday before shutting out Escogido by a humiliating 11-0 at home at the Quisqueya Stadium. On Sunday, the Toros returned the favor by defeating Licey 5-0.
Standings
| Team | W-L | Avg. | Games Behind |
| Licey | 18 - 9 | .667 | - |
| Gigantes | 15 - 11 | .577 | 2.5 |
| Aguilas | 15 - 12 | .556 | 3.0 |
| Estrellas | 12 - 14 | .461 | 5.5 |
| Escogido | 11 - 16 | .407 | 7.0 |
| Toros | 9 - 18 | .333 | 9.0 |
* Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macoris - 7:35pm
Gigantes vs. Estrellas
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