The latest species to hit the endangered list is the Dominican middle class, according to the Diario Libre’s opening editorial comment “Antes de comenzar”, by editor Anibal de Castro. He writes, “The middle class is angry. They no longer believe in political slogans and even less in those who utter them. They know that whoever wins, they will lose.” The middle class subsidizes the poor with their payments of the electricity bills and they are the consumers who sustain the businesses owned by the rich. These are the same people who are having to return their vehicles and withdraw their mortgages because of the high interest rates. “The middle classes do not go to restaurants, on holiday or spend weekends at resorts, because they are seriously threatened by unemployment.” De Castro cites rising prices and the warnings of economists who say “It will take ten years to get back to the point we were at.” The middle class, according to some estimates, has fallen from 26% of the population to 20%. De Castro concludes that “too many people have become poor much too quickly.”