Padre Jose Luis Aleman writes in El Caribe today about what the poor want most. The priest, who is economic advisor to the government and head of the economics department at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, said that the poor reject the government’s proposal to provide families with children in school RD$300 a month, and to pay for school uniforms, transport and food. “What they most want are job creation centers in the barrios.” He explained they want vocational schools, basic education and programs to teach reading and writing. He said the poor prefer that the government instead use the money to subsidize the cost of propane gas and the cost of medicine, and to build sport centers and day care centers in the barrios. Furthermore, he said that those he interviewed, many of whom voted for the PRD, felt the government should use the money now going to the increased government payroll for these programs instead.
