The Economist features a story on the DR’s economic recovery, highlighting that the country is half way back to recovery. The magazine comments that Leonel Fernandez took office after four years of profligacy under his predecessor, Hipolito Mejia, including a dubious bank bail-out, that had doubled the public debt and wrecked what was one of the Caribbean’s success stories of the 1990s. It credits the Fernandez government with restoring confidence in the currency by what it describes as an “austerity program involving cuts in public-sector jobs, tax rises and tighter monetary policy.” It mentions that this was enough to secure a US$665 m loan from the IMF in February, and that this month the government completed the restructuring of two sovereign bonds with a face value of US$1.1 million. The Economist ponders that as a result of these measures, capital flight has abated and inflation has fallen. In the first quarter of this year, the economy grew by 4% compared with the same period last year.
The magazine cites that the next tasks for Fernandez to remain popular are to tackle corruption and poverty. It mentions that stop-start investigations into past scandals have tested public patience, and also points out the reality that the President needs the support of Mejia’s party in Congress, and is treading cautiously.