2003 – Page 47

The Listin Diario reports that while in Panama, the President told the journalists accompanying him that the policies of his predecessor, Leonel Fernandez, were responsible for many of the problems currently afflicting the Dominican Republic, including the power crisis and failures in the banking system, such as the Baninter collapse. For this reason, said Mejia, …

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Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) president Enrique Iglesias said yesterday that the obstacles preventing the disbursement of the US$200 million pending in the stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were on the way to being overcome. He was speaking in Panama, where he met with Dominican President Hipolito Mejia. Iglesias said that the Dominican …

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The Central Bank’s deputy governor, Felix Calvo, announced that Grupo Leon Jimenes, whose Banco Profesional stepped in to take over Bancredito earlier this year, will be drawing up a new long-term strategy for the bank that will include a name change. The new appellation has not yet been revealed.

Hoy newspaper reports that while the US dollar was being sold for between RD$40 and RD$40.25 yesterday – a record low for the peso – there was little movement on the exchange market due to limited demand and a shortage of dollars. Commercial banks kept the rate just below the RD$40 mark, but exchange houses …

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The PRD’s internal party reconciliation committee is holding a summit meeting today. While President Hipolito Mejia is scheduled to attend, most of his big-name rivals for the PRD candidacy have said they would not be present. The most forceful rebuttal came from PRD party president Hatuey Decamps, who said he would not engage in any …

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The PPH (Proyecto Presidencial Hipolito, internal party campaign promoting the President’s re-election) has accused PRD president and strong opponent of Presidential re-election Hatuey Decamps of discrediting the government at last week’s Socialist International conference in Brazil. PPH activists Tomas Hernandez Alberto, Julio Marinez and Carlos Gabriel Garcia were sent to the conference, apparently to frustrate …

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Social scientist and political leader Max Puig writes in today’s El Caribe newspaper about the infamous history of electoral fraud in the Dominican Republic. The relatively recent catalogue is strewn with examples, from the “collossal fraud” of the 1990 elections against then-PLD leader Juan Bosch to the serious crisis of 1994 when Balaguer was forced …

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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 …

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The Dominican women’s volleyball team has suffered defeat at the hands of the Chinese selection at the World Volleyball championships in Japan. They were beaten 25-12, 25-12 and 25-15 by China, who, according to the Dominican team’s coach, Cuban Jorge Garbey, are the strongest in the world. Our national team, who won gold at the …

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