An article in Thursday’s Miami Herald makes a somber assessment of the current political situation in the Dominican Republic, saying that the current divisions and disagreements within the PRD “could put the Caribbean nation on a collision course with democratic principles.” It specifically cites the “Ley de Lemas” as a factor in putting the credibility of the 16 May elections at risk. The piece, by Nancy San Martin, quotes analysts such as Gerardo Le Chevallier from the National Democracy Institute in Washington and Daniel Erikson of the Caribbean Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, another Washington policy institute. The latter points out that the effects of the current unrest in Haiti, which could send many refugees over the border into the Dominican Republic, could further aggravate the situation. ”The international community is paying attention, but not as closely as it should be. This is the most serious crisis the country has gone through in a decade and the ending remains unclear.” For the full text of the article, see http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/7772104.htm