The city of Santo Domingo is in a face to face confrontation with the Balaguer administration. The city’s mayor, Rafael Suberví Bonilla says that while the city council authorized the construction of a children’s hospital on 75% of the land previously occupied by the Hipódromo Perla Antillana, it retained the right to 25,000 square meters and now is challenging the government’s proposal to build a geriatric center on the spot. On Thursday, 4 January, the Mayor requested the assistance of the National Police chief to forcibly stop construction as the builders disregarded a municipal resolution. City officers say that the site is not adequate for the construction of the old people’s home and that the government already has 80,000 square meters on Prolongación Independencia where a small geriatric center is already in operation.
12-18 January 1996