For most residents in Santo Domingo and Santiago, the nation?s two most prominent cities, no strike took place at all yesterday, despite a nationwide call for a general work stoppage. Organizers of the strike sought to stage the protest against the rising cost of electricity, fuel and the government?s economic policy in general. With the exception of businesses in ghetto areas, the call to strike went unheeded. In well-known Santo Domingo ?hot spots? there were reports of acts of violence, such as in Capotillo, where a 39-year-old police sergeant was seriously wounded and several protesters were hit by buckshot and gunfire. There were also reports of confrontations between civilians and members of the armed forces and police from areas such as Licey al Medio and Navarrete in the Santiago province, and Salcedo, Nagua and Barahona.
Nevertheless, Diario Libre has called the effort a complete failure, with Hoy newspaper saying the protest had very little support from the beginning. But Listin Diario and El Caribe newspapers have both focused on the 11 wounded and hundreds more who were jailed as a result.
President Mejia was pleased at the restraint that most of the protesters showed during the marches and demonstrations across the country. He applauded the Dominican people who reacted so calmly to the call to a national strike.
National strikes are discredited in the Dominican Republic, as the leading spokespeople in the past, such as Virtudes Alvarez and Juan Hubieres, have been known to quickly drop their protests against the government in return for benefits from generous programs.
