The administrator of the government-owned Banco de Reservas, Manuel Lara Hernandez, has confirmed that RD$1.4 billion will be borrowed from a pool of banks headed by the Banco Latinoamericano de Desarrollo de las Exportaciones (Bladex) based in Panama. In El Siglo, Lara defended the loan, arguing that the country has only borrowed 18% of its Gross Domestic Product and could easily borrow up to 25%. The money will be used to pay arrears with power companies, thus bringing relief to the long hours of blackouts affecting most areas in the country. While industries, big businesses and middle and upper class areas have back-up power sources, the long blackouts are straining the system.
