2003 – Page 12

President Hipolito Mejia announced in Monte Plata, to the North of Santo Domingo, that the talks with the IMF had concluded, and that next week he would send the 2004 Budget to Congress for approval. The National Development Council will look at the RD$120-billion budget, representing expenditures of RD$37 billion more than last year, before …

Read more…

The highly-touted political convention, called by one faction of the PRD party and scheduled for yesterday, has been postponed for another week. The rescheduling came after three of the presidential hopefuls requested a new date. Depending on which paper one reads, the reason for the postponement varied from poor organization (Hoy) to the threat of …

Read more…

The fairly spontaneous “Yatabueno” movement among middle-class students appears to be picking up steam after a second demonstration along Winston Churchill Boulevard. “Yatabueno” is, in Dominican speak, a phrase that translates to “That’s enough!” The second manifestation by the group’s supporters was easily twice the size of the first and much more vocal, using, according …

Read more…

Mario Mendez, the economic editor for Hoy newspaper, reported on Saturday that the government is studying the possibility of adding new taxes or increasing the reach of existing ones. According to Mendez, if the new taxes are approved, many items will become unaffordable to most consumers, and this will give rise to an increase in …

Read more…

Mickey Ceara Hatton suggests in the Listin Diario’s economic section today that the Dominican Republic should hold off further talks on the free trade agreement with the United States. He reasons that because the Dominican delegation is working against the clock, there is not enough time to completely analyze all the ramifications, especially during an …

Read more…

Among other stories on the current wave of inflation, Hector Linares, writing for Saturday’s Listin Diario, reported that the increased cost of the dollar was the principle culprit. The impact of the exchange rate on the costs of goods and services pushed the inflation to 6.01% in November, placing the 11-month total at 37.55% for …

Read more…