Anibal de Castro, executive editor of the Diario Libre, writes an editorial today on why the Dominican Republic has failed and those reasons, he says, are not only economic. The existing political and social culture deters the progress of government and the standard of living, believes de Castro, who says that the current economic crisis has happened because the nation’s political philosophy badly needs to be updated. He explains that the political parties and their leaders are stuck in the old formulas of political clientelism and patronage, and they overlook the new conditions of the globalized world. He writes that the political teachings of Balaguer (who was in power for over 30 years) still prevail and that this formula fosters corruption, political machinations and dire schemes that contribute nothing to progress, the modernization of society, the fortification of its institutions or any other values associated with democracy. He said that while the DR experienced economic growth, it has not seen actual development. De Castro blames the nation’s decline on the fragility of its institutions, and says the saddest part of it all is that such a scenario could repeat itself unless the nation recognizes that the law is above everything else – even the Executive Branch.
De Castro laments the fact that the IMF only imposes economic conditions for its disbursements, wishing they could instead condition the disbursements on a balance of government powers, including the Central Electoral Board (JCE); the absolute transparency in the management of government funds; professional requirements for obtaining a government job; the implementation of a budget in which education and health are prioritized; a strict code of ethics in government that would penalize nepotism; and, finally, advances in our democracy that would impede the biggest contributors from holding the political parties for ransom.