Jose Antonio Martinez Rojas questions the fact that the government has set aside RD$5.2 billion for the Armed Forces in its 2004 financial plan. “Are we a country at war?” asks the writer. Will there be increases to our forces in Iraq? Will we continue to buy patrol yachts to police illegal marine travelers? Will we continue to build monuments such as the one in Constanza to applaud the patriotism and loyalty of our military? “A country as small as ours has 190 generals, more than Brazil,” he points out. Martinez also criticizes the RD$9 billion assigned to the Ministry of Interior & Police. Other large components of the budget include a RD$39-billion allotment to service a government debt that has tripled since this administration took over. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry’s budget stands at RD$12 billion. This year the administrative department of that ministry complained that it had only received RD$7 billion in funds, or about 70% of the allotted disbursements.
Martinez criticized the government allotments to other government departments, including the sum of RD$775 million to the Tourism Ministry, RD$4 billion to the Agriculture Ministry and RD$514 million to the Industry & Commerce Ministry.