excuse me ken but i miss something here
i understand fluctuation of tge exchange rate and the infaltion,
inflation:
Even with these ups and downs of
the drp ,
the dominican people were
able to buy food for their families and
drive their cars while holding their jobs,
if the inflaton was so.high like you day peoplr
woild begin to protest,taking the streets, start a revolution....
So can u pls.provide an example of something that
had gone high in price?
Your inexperience with the Dominican Republic is showing.
1. The rate of exchange versus the dollar almost never goes down, always up (more pesos can be purchased with the dollar), and sometimes at an alarming rate. As someone else pointed out, at the end of Hippo's term,during which the exchange rate went from 16 or 18 to 1 to 50+ to 1 and likely would have gone to 100 to 1 if he had another year.
Regarding people still feeding themselves, a large percentage of the population does this by eating rice, beans, eggs, meat we would consider scraps, etc. Many of these products are subsidized by the government because the people can't afford them at the market price.
As far as driving cars, that is a luxury. A large percentage have no car and ride the bus, publico and guagua, the amount they can charge controlled by the government because the people need low cost transportation.
Lack of protest, read the thread on that subject that Robert started recently. It is amazing that the people do not
protest more considering what they must endure. Dominicans protest with public strikes, burning tires, stopping traffic on the highways, etc., but even so it is surprising they don't do it more. If the government was not subsidizing what is called the "market basket" of food stuffs and propane cooking gas, and if if the country really cracked down on the very high percentage of people who do not pay their electric bill, and if the bus, guagua and publico unions were given free
rein in setting prices, you can be sure the country would be awash in protest demonstrations.
Finally. the great majority of people do not get a raise when the peso falls, but prices increase. And what most are paid is very low to begin with. For most employees, the there are 3 different salary structures depending on their employer. Those working for hotels, condominiums, etc., have the best of the 3. Those in the top group are presently getting the equivalent of about US$250 per month, and if the peso falls to 45 to 1 during the months after the election, which is quite possible, then they will be getting the equivalent of US$215 and prices in the stores will be quite a bit higher than they are now because the merchants are paying in dollars for much of what they sell, except rice, beans, eggs, etc which are produced here.
It makes no difference to me if you go ahead with your plan. I, and others who live here and know the country say don't do it, but it is your money and your decision.