Former governor of the Central Bank Guillermo Caram of the PRSC opposition party writes today in El Caribe of the inertia that seems to have taken hold of the Fernandez government. He expresses particular concern for the government’s questionable ability to modify the most criticized aspects of the Mejia government. Caram points out that the present government is mimicking much of the modus operandi it inherited, to wit, he cites that the Fernandez administration has filled innumerable posts that extend well beyond the austerity it had promised and has even created new cabinets that triplicate the amount created by its predecessor.
A similar repeat performance can be seen in the way it begins by increasing taxes, under the poorly-named tax reform, emulating the action taken by the Mejia government in its first year in office. Furthermore, Caram criticizes that the government plans to clear its financial arrears with the power generators and propane gas suppliers by borrowing from the private sector and taking on international debt. Meanwhile, he says, it is issuing money not backed by reserves (“inorganicos”) by way of the Banco de Reservas and acquiring new debt with Refidomsa, the Shell-Dominican government refinery.
Caram reflects on what he calls the relative success of the government given that the exchange rate has dropped considerably as a consequence of the economic contraction and monetary restrictions being implemented through the Central Bank auctions. He alerts that this could be temporary, however, as it reflects the confidence of the public in the face of the transfer of power that followed the period of authoritarianism under former President Mejia.
Caram is most disapproving, though, of yet another sign of the continued status quo: the fact that the government has invited back into its cabinet several officers who are tainted with the seal of corruption.