President Hipolito Mejia commented yesterday on the statement by Father Jose Luis Aleman in Hoy newspaper that the government is ?technically broke.?
When asked by reporters, President Mejia was first hesitant to answer Aleman?s comments, as if he were assuming that Hoy newspaper had exaggerated Aleman?s comments. He first replied that ?Cuchito? (Virgilio ?lvarez Dugan, Hoy?s newspaper executive editor) would have to deal with it. Then after further insistence by the press, the President blurted out that Aleman knows nothing about public finance.
Aleman, who has acted as an advisor to the Mejia government, is head of the School of Economics of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra.
Aleman was adamant in his criticism: ?They don?t have money to pay their debts and they don?t know where they are going to get it from. The only way [for them] to pay debt is by borrowing money.?
Aleman argued that the government has no one to blame but itself, citing the administration?s unwillingness to reduce its expenses and to stop increasing its long- and short-term debt in hard currency (e.g. dollars). Aleman expressed that as a result of the lack of confidence in the government?s monetary and fiscal policy, Dominicans are converting their pesos to dollars and depositing them in
banks outside of the Dominican Republic.
In his statements, Aleman said that he has told the President?s daughter, Carolina Mejia, a former student of his, if she has given some thought to the papelazo? (embarrassing role) that her father is playing. Aleman said he told her that ?instead of being a decent man, in the eyes of the population he is seen as a vile man, a defender of the worst interests of the nation.? He said that the President can?t say he doesn?t know what is going on.
Aleman also criticized the 2003 Budget. He said that the government has authorized blank checks to several ministries, because while the budget establishes the construction of public works, it does not specify where these will be located.
The influential economist told Hoy newspaper that the President has been a major disappointment to him. Aleman said: ?I can say that I knew him as a decent man, a man of Catholic principles, not a big talker, because he had a good Catholic formation at the Politecnico Loyola. I see the man, who I think is a good man, has not soiled his hands too much, but his conduct before the public opinion is incomprehensible to my eyes.?
