2003 – Page 57

The Listin Diario newspaper picks up on the latest analysis of the Dominican economic situation by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which contends that the gradual reduction of interest rates scheduled for 2004 will depend on the resumption of the IMF agreement, an improvement in investor confidence and greater fiscal discipline on the part of the …

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In its main editorial column, the Diario Libre newspaper comments that some explanations surrounding recent events are lacking. “Uncertainty is the worst of climates for investment,” it declares, going on to say that while economic predictions can never be accurate, we do need some explanations to equip us for the near future. “It is necessary …

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While Finance Minister Rafael Calderon continues his search for an alternative to the unpopular 5% tax on exports, which was met with strong opposition by the business community and declared illegal by the Supreme Court and the Senate, Francisco Alvarez Castellanos, writing for Hoy newspaper, comes up with a few unusual ideas for new taxes. …

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“I am 100% innocent and I will prove it in court!” is the bold statement quoted in Diario Libre’s “?Vaya perla!” section. These are the words of Radhames “Chino” Ramos Garcia, the PRD deputy for La Vega, who, in his capacity as Dominican Consul in the northern Haitian city of Cap Haitien, allegedly directed a …

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Diario Libre reports that Frederick Chien Fu, president of the Taiwanese body Control Yuan, made an address to the Dominican Central Bank yesterday, in which he declared that “for a nation to establish corruption controls, it must have the cooperation of its citizens, through vigilance and the reporting of dubious activities committed against the interests …

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A Penn Schoen & Berland poll of 1,200 eligible voters for the 2004 presidential election, conducted from 24 September-7 October, showed former President Leonel Fernandez (PLD) leading with a more than comfortable margin. The Penn Schoen poll reflects a general rejection of the performance of the government of President Hipolito Mejia. As reported in El …

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The Central American affiliate of the Gallup polling company, Consultoria Interdisciplinaria en Desarrollo (CID), polled 1,204 eligible Dominican voters from 1-6 October. The company describes itself as “Latin America’s premier market research and public opinion company”. Their results showed that if the election had been held on the day of the poll, former President Leonel …

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The CID-Gallup poll carried out during the first week of October revealed that 66% thought the Mejia administration is poorly managed, 24% felt its management was neither good nor bad, and 8% said it was well managed. On the question of the quality of performance of President Mejia himself, of those surveyed 38% said it …

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The PRD continues its wrangles in the aftermath of the plebiscite on the re-election issue. Rafael “Fello” Subervi Bonilla has denied the claims of Rafael “Fafa” Taveras, who said that Subervi had met with President Mejia. Despite the plebiscite results, leading PPH (Proyecto Presidencial Hipolito – internal PRD campaign for the President’s re-election) activist Eligio …

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Despite the widespread pessimism regarding the economic situation, 90% of those questioned said they were proud to be Dominican. Interestingly, 81% of those polled said they were “very happy” or “somewhat happy” on a personal level. Also on the positive side, 7 out of 10 people were aware that Miss Universe was Dominican, and 46% …

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