On Wednesday, 17 April, the newspaper Listín Diario, published a report indicating that a study by The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. for the first quarter of the year states that foreigners are delaying making investments in the D.R. until the results of the election are known. The publication feels that the country will only grow 3 percent in 1996 and a moderate 3.4% in 1997. It says that there are doubts about the optimistic reports on the behavior of the economy provided by the Central Bank. Nevertheless, it also states that the government has been able to maintain a rigorous fiscal policy, despite the decline in growth and the severe electricity shortage that affects local industry.
The fiscal surpluses reported by the Central Bank, while reflecting a strict monetary policy, seem to have been achieved.