I got this from LE NOUVELLISTE, THE OLDEST HAITIAN NEWSPAPER! VERY GOOD READ!
Dominican Republic : A political panorama
The Nouvelliste | Published : December 27, 2013
The Nouvelliste herewith publishes a text by Jean Michel Caroit , French journalist based in the Dominican Republic and corresponding newspaper Le Monde . This text is a presentation October 11, 2012 before the CERI at Sciences- Po in Paris . If some information has changed since and others denied the relevance of the text is to understand politics in the Dominican Republic.
Let me tell you about a series of observations on recent developments in
my quality of news correspondent based in the Dominican Republic. In an article published last month, the Dominican intellectual Andr?s L. Mateo, National Prize for Literature in 2004 , described the former president Leonel Fernandez prince of the simulacrum . " Leonel Fernandez writes novelist and essayist, has tripled the debt in eight years , he maintained fictitious jobs to more than 18,000 members of his Dominican Liberation Party (PDL) , he left the corruption thrive as part of cohesion around his leadership, he has spent millions of dollars on trips to feed his ego and yet he built the
image of a world leader . "
Undoubtedly, Leonel Fernandez has won the majority of his interlocutors on stage
international . Its reasoned about his professorial tone reassured peers and
foreign investors to whom he presented himself as the guarantor of a strong accompanied by an impeccable growth macroeconomic stability . In fact, the growth of the Dominican economy has remained one of the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past twenty years. Despite the international crisis, it reached 4.5 % in 2011 and will only be slightly lower this year.
But this growth has not helped reduce poverty. Behind the palm-fringed beaches that attract over 4 million tourists a year , more than 40 % of the population still lives below the poverty line. The infant mortality rate and school exclusion are among the highest in the region. Inequalities have widened between the impoverished masses of the countryside and urban slums and caste -related power exhibits ill-gotten wealth often . As for the famous macroeconomic stability, the myth has been shattered since Leonel Fernandez left the presidential palace on 16 August. His successor, Danilo Medina , which belongs to the same party as Leonel Fernandez, has recently recognized that inherited a very difficult economic situation.
Members of his economic team the same as under Leonel Fernandez admitted
the consolidated public deficit had exploded , reaching 8% of gross domestic product. Power outages are less frequent during the election campaign, are intensified again. Faced with fiscal imbalances , Danilo Medina appealed to the International Monetary Fund. An IMF mission visited Santo Domingo in September and
could only see the seriousness of the situation because of the size of the fiscal deficit and losses of the power sector , more than 100 million per month. The possible signing of an agreement with the IMF, which would provide new funding was
postponed to next year and should be accompanied by strict conditions. In the meantime,
Danilo Medina announced a fiscal pact , a euphemism for a sharp increase in taxes,
including ITBIS , local VAT . It should increase by two points, 16 to 18%
be extended to consumer products hitherto exempted.
While the Dominican Republic is the world champion of corruption and mismanagement of public funds, according to the latest ranking by the World Economic Forum in Davos, these measures are not welcomed by both the business community and the population requiring punishment of corrupt previous government and a
reduction and rationalization of public expenditure before being put to use.
Popular organizations within the alternative social forum demanded that former President Leonel Fernandez is brought to justice for his role in the explosion of the fiscal deficit. "The guilty must pay the piper , the people did not have to pay new taxes ," commented Victor Geronimo spokesman Alternative Social Forum. he
announced protests and strikes.
Already in recent weeks , protests took place against the
blackouts , increasingly long and frequent . They cause significant
losses of fresh produce in colmados , small neighborhood grocery stores . They cripple small businesses that do not have generator and raise the discontent of the population who can not use fans or air conditioners in these periods of high heat.
How did we get here and why the Dominican Liberation Party in power he won a third consecutive presidential election? According Participaci?n ciudadana , the main organization of civil society, " the excessive and irresponsible for purely electoral public spending caused the largest fiscal deficit in history
Dominican . " In other words , the ruling party has sacrificed the macroeconomic stability to buy elections with the old clientelist practices . We can not solve the problem without punishing those who created it adds Citizen Participation . For several months , Leonel Fernandez seemed tempted by a new application , though prohibited by the Constitution. When it finally did , in the influential Dominican sectors and Washington pressure, he imposed his wife, Margarita Cedeno , as candidate for vice -president. Thanks to the large budget of the office of First Lady Margarita Cedeno has built a popularity based on handouts to the poor. After the election, she was awarded the President Danilo Medina coordinate all social programs. One way to prepare for the future .
"The election was not fair," noted Francisco Alvarez , head
of Participaci?n ciudadana shortly before the election. This organization has denounced " the active and permanent participation of the President of the Republic in the countryside, accompanied by senior officials , with personnel, vehicles and fuel paid by the state ." Public institutions have increased food distributions and appliances at rallies candidate Medina . Justicia y transparencia Foundation (justice and transparency) also expressed concern " unprecedented spending this long campaign." She calculated that in the last four months of campaigning , political parties spent at least 4.5 billion pesos ( 90 million euros) , a considerable sum in this country of 10 million inhabitants. 74.7 % of the total spent by the LDP , 25.2% by the Dominican Revolutionary Party ( PRD ), the main opposition and 0.1% by the four candidates 'alternative' .
According to economist Bernardo Vega, the explosion of government spending over the first eight months of 2012 also reflects the will of Leonel Fernandez to prepare his own reelection in 2016. This former governor of the central bank and former ambassador to Washington notes that the budget deficit between the months of May - the month of the election - and August - the month of the transfer of power - he calls deficit reelection was
greater than that between January and May , who favored the election of Danilo Medina . During the first eight months of the year , spending on public works, one of the main sources of corruption have increased 134% compared to the same period in 2011. Leonel Fernandez has spent the last months of his mandate to inaugurate bits of road projects and buildings, sometimes unfinished , trying to make up his popularity .
The victory of the LDP is also explained by the divisions and the weakness of the opposition.
The PRD , a member of the Socialist International , is divided into two factions. This division was
ably maintained by Leonel Fernandez who covertly supported Miguel Vargas , president of the PRD . Miguel Vargas, involved in several corruption cases, did nothing to promote the election of the candidate of his party for president , Hipolito Mejia .
President between 2000 and 2004 , it remained popular among grassroots activists but
encountered rejection of middle and upper classes who have not forgotten the corruption and
the disastrous end of his term after the fraudulent bankruptcy of three major banks in 2003. Unusual character , he became known for his flowery language , sometimes vulgar, and refused to deviate from his entourage several unsavory characters . As for the Social Christian Reformist Party , the Conservative education founded by former caudillo Joaquin Balaguer , it was largely swallowed up by the LDP . Much of its executives , including its leader, Carlos Morales Troncoso, rallied Leonel Fernandez who distributed their wallets and sinecures . Danilo Medina has retained almost all of these reformist ministers.
Dirty campaign against Hipolito Mejia by the National Progressive Force , a small far-right party LDP ally , has undoubtedly played a role in the victory of Danilo Medina . Founded by lawyer Vinicio Castillo Vincho , one of the closest advisers Leonel Fernandez, the small party has made the fight against its main Haitian immigration
Warhorse . Another element favored the victory of the party in power : control of the vast majority of the media, the massive purchase space in the press , radio and television , as well as pay hundreds of journalists sing the praises of Leonel Fernandez and his successor.
The purchase of identity documents to prevent opposition supporters from voting was the main irregularities denounced by the PRD . This practice has led to several violent incidents in which at least five gunshot wounds on voting day . The observation mission of the Organization of American States ( OAS) has deplored these irregularities and " strong interference" of the outgoing President of the Republic in the electoral process . It nevertheless ratified the official results proclaimed the victory of Danilo Medina with 51% of votes.
It is perseverance that Danilo Medina eventually becoming president of the Dominican Republic. Born 60 years ago in a modest family in the village of Arroyo Cano near San Juan de la Maguana , southwest of the Dominican Republic , he joined the LDP since its foundation in 1973 by former President Juan Bosch . After studying chemistry and economics, he devoted himself to the party that has evolved from Marxism to center-right after the death of its founder. MP in 1986, re-elected twice , Danilo Medina played a decisive role as campaign manager in the victory of Leonel Fernandez at the presidential election of 1996. Candidate to turn in 2000, he was beaten by Hipolito Mejia . In 2004, he has led the campaign Leonel Fernandez , who won a second term again. Despite the sealed pact between the two men , Leonel Fernandez has refused to give up in 2008 and the relationship between the two men became icy until the last presidential campaign. Following the appointment of his wife Margarita Cedeno as a candidate for vice-president Leonel Fernandez has actively campaigned in favor of Danilo Medina .
.
Danilo Medina pledged to "continue what is right , correct what is wrong and do what has never been done." Conflicting signals : he promised major changes in his inaugural speech shortly before announcing the formation of a government more than half of the members belonged to that of Leonel Fernandez. Upon his arrival at the presidential palace , Danilo Medina posted a more modest and austere style than its predecessor . Unlike Leonel Fernandez always surrounded by a swarm of soldiers and bodyguards, he is accompanied by a discreet escort.
He promised to devote 4% of gross domestic product to education. This constitutional requirement has not been met by the former President Fernandez despite strong mobilization of youth. Dominican education system is one of the weakest in Latin America. Danilo Medina promised to solve the perennial electricity crisis by the end of its mandate. This promise made repeatedly by Leonel Fernandez during his three presidential terms , was never held . Dominican electrical service remains one of the most expensive and most deficient in the region and is one of the main obstacles to the competitiveness of enterprises .
Dominican Republic : A political panorama
The Nouvelliste | Published : December 27, 2013
The Nouvelliste herewith publishes a text by Jean Michel Caroit , French journalist based in the Dominican Republic and corresponding newspaper Le Monde . This text is a presentation October 11, 2012 before the CERI at Sciences- Po in Paris . If some information has changed since and others denied the relevance of the text is to understand politics in the Dominican Republic.
Let me tell you about a series of observations on recent developments in
my quality of news correspondent based in the Dominican Republic. In an article published last month, the Dominican intellectual Andr?s L. Mateo, National Prize for Literature in 2004 , described the former president Leonel Fernandez prince of the simulacrum . " Leonel Fernandez writes novelist and essayist, has tripled the debt in eight years , he maintained fictitious jobs to more than 18,000 members of his Dominican Liberation Party (PDL) , he left the corruption thrive as part of cohesion around his leadership, he has spent millions of dollars on trips to feed his ego and yet he built the
image of a world leader . "
Undoubtedly, Leonel Fernandez has won the majority of his interlocutors on stage
international . Its reasoned about his professorial tone reassured peers and
foreign investors to whom he presented himself as the guarantor of a strong accompanied by an impeccable growth macroeconomic stability . In fact, the growth of the Dominican economy has remained one of the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past twenty years. Despite the international crisis, it reached 4.5 % in 2011 and will only be slightly lower this year.
But this growth has not helped reduce poverty. Behind the palm-fringed beaches that attract over 4 million tourists a year , more than 40 % of the population still lives below the poverty line. The infant mortality rate and school exclusion are among the highest in the region. Inequalities have widened between the impoverished masses of the countryside and urban slums and caste -related power exhibits ill-gotten wealth often . As for the famous macroeconomic stability, the myth has been shattered since Leonel Fernandez left the presidential palace on 16 August. His successor, Danilo Medina , which belongs to the same party as Leonel Fernandez, has recently recognized that inherited a very difficult economic situation.
Members of his economic team the same as under Leonel Fernandez admitted
the consolidated public deficit had exploded , reaching 8% of gross domestic product. Power outages are less frequent during the election campaign, are intensified again. Faced with fiscal imbalances , Danilo Medina appealed to the International Monetary Fund. An IMF mission visited Santo Domingo in September and
could only see the seriousness of the situation because of the size of the fiscal deficit and losses of the power sector , more than 100 million per month. The possible signing of an agreement with the IMF, which would provide new funding was
postponed to next year and should be accompanied by strict conditions. In the meantime,
Danilo Medina announced a fiscal pact , a euphemism for a sharp increase in taxes,
including ITBIS , local VAT . It should increase by two points, 16 to 18%
be extended to consumer products hitherto exempted.
While the Dominican Republic is the world champion of corruption and mismanagement of public funds, according to the latest ranking by the World Economic Forum in Davos, these measures are not welcomed by both the business community and the population requiring punishment of corrupt previous government and a
reduction and rationalization of public expenditure before being put to use.
Popular organizations within the alternative social forum demanded that former President Leonel Fernandez is brought to justice for his role in the explosion of the fiscal deficit. "The guilty must pay the piper , the people did not have to pay new taxes ," commented Victor Geronimo spokesman Alternative Social Forum. he
announced protests and strikes.
Already in recent weeks , protests took place against the
blackouts , increasingly long and frequent . They cause significant
losses of fresh produce in colmados , small neighborhood grocery stores . They cripple small businesses that do not have generator and raise the discontent of the population who can not use fans or air conditioners in these periods of high heat.
How did we get here and why the Dominican Liberation Party in power he won a third consecutive presidential election? According Participaci?n ciudadana , the main organization of civil society, " the excessive and irresponsible for purely electoral public spending caused the largest fiscal deficit in history
Dominican . " In other words , the ruling party has sacrificed the macroeconomic stability to buy elections with the old clientelist practices . We can not solve the problem without punishing those who created it adds Citizen Participation . For several months , Leonel Fernandez seemed tempted by a new application , though prohibited by the Constitution. When it finally did , in the influential Dominican sectors and Washington pressure, he imposed his wife, Margarita Cedeno , as candidate for vice -president. Thanks to the large budget of the office of First Lady Margarita Cedeno has built a popularity based on handouts to the poor. After the election, she was awarded the President Danilo Medina coordinate all social programs. One way to prepare for the future .
"The election was not fair," noted Francisco Alvarez , head
of Participaci?n ciudadana shortly before the election. This organization has denounced " the active and permanent participation of the President of the Republic in the countryside, accompanied by senior officials , with personnel, vehicles and fuel paid by the state ." Public institutions have increased food distributions and appliances at rallies candidate Medina . Justicia y transparencia Foundation (justice and transparency) also expressed concern " unprecedented spending this long campaign." She calculated that in the last four months of campaigning , political parties spent at least 4.5 billion pesos ( 90 million euros) , a considerable sum in this country of 10 million inhabitants. 74.7 % of the total spent by the LDP , 25.2% by the Dominican Revolutionary Party ( PRD ), the main opposition and 0.1% by the four candidates 'alternative' .
According to economist Bernardo Vega, the explosion of government spending over the first eight months of 2012 also reflects the will of Leonel Fernandez to prepare his own reelection in 2016. This former governor of the central bank and former ambassador to Washington notes that the budget deficit between the months of May - the month of the election - and August - the month of the transfer of power - he calls deficit reelection was
greater than that between January and May , who favored the election of Danilo Medina . During the first eight months of the year , spending on public works, one of the main sources of corruption have increased 134% compared to the same period in 2011. Leonel Fernandez has spent the last months of his mandate to inaugurate bits of road projects and buildings, sometimes unfinished , trying to make up his popularity .
The victory of the LDP is also explained by the divisions and the weakness of the opposition.
The PRD , a member of the Socialist International , is divided into two factions. This division was
ably maintained by Leonel Fernandez who covertly supported Miguel Vargas , president of the PRD . Miguel Vargas, involved in several corruption cases, did nothing to promote the election of the candidate of his party for president , Hipolito Mejia .
President between 2000 and 2004 , it remained popular among grassroots activists but
encountered rejection of middle and upper classes who have not forgotten the corruption and
the disastrous end of his term after the fraudulent bankruptcy of three major banks in 2003. Unusual character , he became known for his flowery language , sometimes vulgar, and refused to deviate from his entourage several unsavory characters . As for the Social Christian Reformist Party , the Conservative education founded by former caudillo Joaquin Balaguer , it was largely swallowed up by the LDP . Much of its executives , including its leader, Carlos Morales Troncoso, rallied Leonel Fernandez who distributed their wallets and sinecures . Danilo Medina has retained almost all of these reformist ministers.
Dirty campaign against Hipolito Mejia by the National Progressive Force , a small far-right party LDP ally , has undoubtedly played a role in the victory of Danilo Medina . Founded by lawyer Vinicio Castillo Vincho , one of the closest advisers Leonel Fernandez, the small party has made the fight against its main Haitian immigration
Warhorse . Another element favored the victory of the party in power : control of the vast majority of the media, the massive purchase space in the press , radio and television , as well as pay hundreds of journalists sing the praises of Leonel Fernandez and his successor.
The purchase of identity documents to prevent opposition supporters from voting was the main irregularities denounced by the PRD . This practice has led to several violent incidents in which at least five gunshot wounds on voting day . The observation mission of the Organization of American States ( OAS) has deplored these irregularities and " strong interference" of the outgoing President of the Republic in the electoral process . It nevertheless ratified the official results proclaimed the victory of Danilo Medina with 51% of votes.
It is perseverance that Danilo Medina eventually becoming president of the Dominican Republic. Born 60 years ago in a modest family in the village of Arroyo Cano near San Juan de la Maguana , southwest of the Dominican Republic , he joined the LDP since its foundation in 1973 by former President Juan Bosch . After studying chemistry and economics, he devoted himself to the party that has evolved from Marxism to center-right after the death of its founder. MP in 1986, re-elected twice , Danilo Medina played a decisive role as campaign manager in the victory of Leonel Fernandez at the presidential election of 1996. Candidate to turn in 2000, he was beaten by Hipolito Mejia . In 2004, he has led the campaign Leonel Fernandez , who won a second term again. Despite the sealed pact between the two men , Leonel Fernandez has refused to give up in 2008 and the relationship between the two men became icy until the last presidential campaign. Following the appointment of his wife Margarita Cedeno as a candidate for vice-president Leonel Fernandez has actively campaigned in favor of Danilo Medina .
.
Danilo Medina pledged to "continue what is right , correct what is wrong and do what has never been done." Conflicting signals : he promised major changes in his inaugural speech shortly before announcing the formation of a government more than half of the members belonged to that of Leonel Fernandez. Upon his arrival at the presidential palace , Danilo Medina posted a more modest and austere style than its predecessor . Unlike Leonel Fernandez always surrounded by a swarm of soldiers and bodyguards, he is accompanied by a discreet escort.
He promised to devote 4% of gross domestic product to education. This constitutional requirement has not been met by the former President Fernandez despite strong mobilization of youth. Dominican education system is one of the weakest in Latin America. Danilo Medina promised to solve the perennial electricity crisis by the end of its mandate. This promise made repeatedly by Leonel Fernandez during his three presidential terms , was never held . Dominican electrical service remains one of the most expensive and most deficient in the region and is one of the main obstacles to the competitiveness of enterprises .
