Following the completion of his first 100 days in office, sociologists and civil society representatives are describing Danilo Medina’s performance as mixed. The start of his term was marked by economic issues and protests for transparency and against corruption in government.
According to sociologists Wilfredo Lozano and Cesar Perez, the economic deficit that Medina inherited from his predecessor has been the main obstacle for the first months of the new government, forcing him to choose to increase taxes to maintain high government spending.
Meanwhile, youth groups have led protests asking for penalties for what is described as a fiscal fraud rather than fiscal deficit, increasing government disproval ratings.
Servio Tulio Castanos Guzman, executive vice president of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (Finjus) and Francisco Alvarez, coordinator of Citizen Participation (PC) said that the positives included the austerity measures that the government had implemented.
Trajano Vidal Potentini, president of the Foundation for Justice and Transparency and sociologist Cesar Perez, stated that after an initial speech full of hope, the President has made his government a copy of that of Fernandez, using the same people.
They said that it is likely that Medina will face difficult times ahead with rising complaints from the middle class and the young.
In an interview in today’s Diario Libre, historian Manuel Nunez comments on other plusses of the first 100 days such as are the orders to issue titles to long time property holders, the one-stop shop for doing business, and the allocation of 4% of the GDP to public education.
www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/11/19/expertos-evaluan-primeros-meses-gobierno-danilo
www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2012/11/19/455357/Amarante-Baret-dice-jovenes-queprotestan-contra-la-reforma-fiscal-estan