Hipolito Mejia declared in his farewell address to the nation as President that he leaves office with a clean conscience. He said the high prices of petroleum and the collapse of several commercial banks were the main obstacles to his making a better government. ?I would have liked to govern the country during a period in which our economy had not been shaken by the collapse of three import private banks, as a result of clear violations to norms and banking laws,? said Mejia.
?Once in government, one accepts and acknowledges, with humbleness, that there are things that we can control and things that are out of our control.?
He said the powerful members of this country?s society denied him their solidarity and requested that he back the reforms the new administration will need to confront these difficult economic times. He said that the incoming authorities will need to overcome six main challenges to restore economic stability: the weakened buying power of the population, the increase in the prices of goods and services, the collapse of the electricity sector, the reduction in citizens? security, and the serious fiscal crisis caused by the collapse of banks and the subsequent salvaging of depositors? funds.
Mejia said that he acted with decisiveness and responsibility in buying back Union Fenosa?s shares in the bankrupt power distribution companies Edenorte and Edesur. He said the decision was made ?before the imminent collapse of Edenorte? when it was requesting RD$3.6 billion from the government to capitalize the company ? similar to the RD$4.5 million that Ede-Este is now requesting. The outgoing politician described Ede-Este as a company that has suffered a collapse and ?the main reason for the crisis we are experiencing in the service of power.?
He said the decision to increase the electricity tariffs by 49% with only two months and a half before the election was very ?painful.? ?And my people suffered and the people resented this, and on 16 May most responded with the slogan, ?E? pa? fuera que van!?? said Mejia.
He offered his support to the fiscal reform in Congress, and hoped that this would bring a 30% general increase in wages. He promised a constructive opposition to the incoming government and said he would not obstruct any sensible initiatives of the Fernandez government, saying that ?everyone needs to pull in the same direction to push the country ahead.?