An opinion piece by Fabio R. Herrera Minino in Hoy newspaper calls the government and the power generation and distribution companies “bad guys”, who seek to better their own interests without any consideration of the public suffering caused by their “business that is poorly run and even more poorly supervised.” The official explanation for the epic power cuts over the last week was chalked up to technical faults (false) and fuel shortages due to non-payment (true), proving that the public is at the complete mercy of these negotiating parties and a government “greedy for re-election.” There were many beneficiaries of the privatization of the power sector, but the Dominican public was not among them, continues Herrera. The return of the companies to state control is a retrograde step aimed at furthering President Hipolito Mejia’s electoral ambitions, he argues. The only hope, concludes Herrera, would be for the IMF to have the courage to suspend the loans that everybody knows are destined for political ends.
Raul Perez Pena, writing in the Listin Diario, comments on the “privatization fiasco” and reminds readers of the false promises made by both the current government and its predecessor that the power cuts would fade into history.