President Hipolito Mejia is on the road again, this time to Bolivia and Brazil. He will first attend this week’s Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, also to be attended by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, giving rise to speculation that the two will meet.
Hoy’s Emilio Lapayesse writes in his “En solo cien palabras” column that Bolivia, as “the continent’s poorest country”, is an auspicious venue for this week’s meeting of Latin American leaders. “It would be good if the participants reflect on the failure of Bolivian democracy, which is as flawed as ours. Our President could ponder recent events in Bolivia, which culminated in the President’s resignation.” Lapayesse states that these summit meetings would be worthwhile if they really led to European-style economic integration, “but, unfortunately, they are not interested in that. Here, some are calling for dollarization.” The writer can be contacted at e.lapayese@codetel.net.do
After the summit, Mejia will travel to Brazil on the invitation of President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva in the capital city of Brasilia, to attend a meeting of bilateral organizations aimed at drawing up a regional development strategy. President Mejia will also visit Sao Paulo for a meeting with Brazilian businesspeople and potential investors in the Dominican Republic. These include tourist and cruise ship operators, as well as sugar cane companies.
This voyage will mark the President’s 40th overseas trip since taking office in 2000.