During an interview with the Listin Diario on occasion of his participation in the Latin American forum on modernization of state enterprises which gathered several former Latin American chiefs of state in Santo Domingo, former President of Venezuela, Luis Herrera Campins, said that Dominicans have assimilated globalization and kept their customs. He commented that while in Venezuela, U.S. music is king, in the Dominican Republic, merengue music and other local beats prevail. It is also interesting to note that despite the avalanche of U.S. and international fast food shops that have arrived in the past three years, local fast food chains have been maintained and prospered as their owners have accepted the challenge and improved their quality and efficiency to compete. The success of the local brands is attributed to the fact that their owners seem to be more in tune with the local tastes.
