President Danilo Medina has said that thanks to his Surprise Visits Program, his government has been able to lift 1,600,000 citizens out of poverty. The program focuses on sustainable rural development and lists 239 projects nationwide. Medina went on record saying that now 30% of Dominicans are middle class, more than those in extreme poverty.
Medina cited government statistics that show rural poverty has dropped to 51% in 2013 to 25.6% in 2018. Extreme rural poverty has also declined from 14.5% to 4.1%, he said. Medina estimated the middle class is now 30% of the population.
Medina said that the surprise visits program enabled him to see for himself the transformation of the country. He spoke with pride on how the country is the fastest growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic posted an increase in GDP last year of 6.6%.
“We are not the little country we were in the past. We are the most prestigious economy in Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said. “We are talking about an economy undergoing a sustained growth process; we are a thriving economy,” he pointed out while participating in the delivery of a processing plant for dairy products and fruits in Hato Mayor, in the east, another Surprise Visits Program project.
The Surprise Visits Program has cost taxpayers RD$40 billion.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Presidencia
26 February 2019