2024 – Page 248

Acting President Raquel Peña swore in on Friday, 28 December 2023, the president of the Constitutional Court (TC) and four other new judges of the 13 court plenary. President Luis Abinader was on vacation in New York City with his family. The judges were sworn in the Las Cariátides room of the Presidential Palace, one …

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In its last meeting of 2023, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic decided to maintain at 7% the monetary policy interest rate. The overnight interest rate will remain the same at 5.50%. According to the Central Bank, the year-to-year inflation rate has been reduced and kept within 4.0% (+/-1.0%) thanks to the bank’s monetary …

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It’s that time of the year again. At the onset of the Christmas holidays, the Taxes Agency (DGII) announced that only 678,000 persons have renewed their vehicle registration tax called the “marbete,” a small sticker that goes on the windshield of all cars. Time is running out and there are a million cars and light …

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The Chamber of Deputies passed on Friday, 29 December 2023 the bill that creates the National Intelligence Agency (DNI) to strengthen national security. The Dominican Republic currently has a National Intelligence Department that will now be transformed into an agency that will work together with various state institutions. The amendments are made to ensure the …

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President Luis Abinader issued Decree No. 663-23 that declares the biosafety of pig farms in the Dominican Republic of high national interest. The decree seeks to strengthen hog production and establish the legal mechanisms for the registration, surveillance, early notification and prompt diagnosis of diseases that affect the industry, as well as set the basic …

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The president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) says that 855,000 people have registered to vote in the 2024 general elections. Of these, 273,000 live in New York, or 35% of the registered Dominicans. The JCE says that the voting roll will close on 21 January 2024. Dominican voters abroad are divided in three foreign …

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The Ministry of Environment says it did not find traces of chemicals in the samples of waters of the wetlands on the north coast of northeastern Samana province. High salinity was found and residual waters. Environmentalists suspect commercial interested parties ordered the dispersing of chemicals to dry out mangroves in wetlands on the north coast …

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The Chamber of Deputies passed the bill that grants the President of the Dominican Republic special powers to reduce import customs tariffs to zero in “emergency” situations. These tariff reductions do not apply to everything, however. For example sugar is not on the list. These special powers are for a limited time, six months only. …

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RD$10.2 billion (around US$175 million) was generated by the Dominican film industry in 2023, according to numbers from the Dominican Republic Film Commission (DGCine). Some 120 movies were produced here, including 75 Dominican productions and 45 produced by overseas companies. Only 12 of these films received financial support from the DGCine. The DGCine explains that …

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59-year old Miguel Gutierrez, the former deputy for the Modern Revolutionary Party, pleaded guilty in Miami, Florida to conspiring to distribute cocaine and asset laundering in order to reduce his sentence on charges of international drug trafficking. He is in jail in Florida for criminal activity from 2014 to 2020 in the Dominican Republic and …

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