Marino Ginebra, president of the National Council of Businesses (CONEP), favors letting the peso float to its real level of RD$20 to the US$1. “We have a problem. We have a peso that has been gaining over the past 10 years.” He said that five years ago, the Spanish peseta and the Dominican peso were on par at 160 to the US$. Today the dollar reaps 220 pesetas but only 160 pesos. Minister of Finance, Fernando Alvarez Bogaert, admitted this has a negative effect on Dominican exports and on tourism, making the DR a more expensive destination for European tourists. El Siglo reports that the peso was RD$12.42 in 1991. For the past year, government monetary authorities have kept the exchange rate stable at RD$16.66 to the US$. Celso Marranzini, a past president of CONEP, said it would be better if the government eliminated the 5% exchange commission on US$ dollar transactions. (21 August 2001)
