The terms middle class and middle income vary from country to country. The gap between the classes is getting wider in the USA, Canada, The UK, etc. As it is in the DR. Here the poor who represent the majority of the population are becoming poorer due to increased taxes, lack of education, and corruption. And yes, there is a rising middle class. Teachers were given large salary increases and are adding to the middle class numbers.
The DR economy is improving if one is to believe the figures on foreign investment, imports and exports cited by the various DR government departments. But more money in doesn't equate to a more equitable spread class wise. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer still rings true in developing countries.
It will be interesting to see who benefits from the new oil exploration initiative. Based on what's happened in other countries and the DR governments experience with mineral resource extraction, I'm guessing the government will get the lion's share of the financial benefits if the exploration progresses to the production stage. National exploration and production companies will get the remainder. Where I live in Canada, we have massive offshore oil resources. The bulk of it goes to the government, the US and we only have one small oil refinery providing a minimum of jobs.
