Caught by a TV camera in one of the Presidential Palace hallways where they attended a cabinet meeting yesterday, Tourism Minister Felix (Felucho) Jimenez and Environment Minister Max Puig tried to downplay their differences for the sake of the government and smiled for the camera as they together commented on the proposed construction of hotels in the Bahia de las Aguilas UNESCO biosphere reserve. “Differences there can be in any place, but between us there has not been any personal differences in absolute, and any point of view that either of us could have we can deal with in a courteous and cordial way,” said Puig, as reported in El Caribe.
As reported in Diario Libre, Felix Jimenez recognized that environmental impact studies are the Ministry of Environment’s area of competence. Puig said that the Ministry of Environment already has a study carried out by a Spanish university.
The newspaper says that the two heads of department have differences over the use of the term “liberated zones” by Minister of Tourism to refer to a recent presidential decree that using this term authorizes the construction of hotel rooms in protected areas. The Ministry of Environment understands that these zones are still under the helm of the Ministry of Environment and are off limits to hotel construction. Jimenez had complained that Puig had not sent anyone to the meetings for the environmental site planning his department has underway. The Ministry supports the proposal to build the hotel rooms in the buffer zone outside of the reserve, the Cabo Rojo-Pedernales area.
As reported in Hoy, Jimenez asked for Puig to wait for the presentation of the company and the environmental impact study that will be presented by the company promoting the development in the environmental reserve. El Caribe mentions that Puig had described the French investors Jimenez is supporting as pirates and real estate speculators. The commercial department of the Embassy of France in Santo Domingo does not have information on the company that is proposing to make a US$600 million investment to build four 70-room hotels in Bahia de las Aguilas. Alina Roger of the French Embassy, said, that Mogador, mentioned as the investment company, “is not known in France”. She explained that as far as the Embassy has been able to find out, “the company does not exist in France”. She explained that the French Embassy has no information either on the French investors that have announced the intent to make a US$600 million investment in the Bahia de las Aguilas beach area.