2000 – Page 26

Photographs of the baptism of Jean Carlos and Jean Luis Rodríguez González were released to the press yesterday. The two boys made headlines because their godfathers are none other than President Hipólito Mejía and former President Joaquín Balaguer. The boy’s father, Roberto Rodriguez is the present director of the Instituto Nacional de Aguas Potables y …

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Commercial banks are buying the peso at RD$16.40. Central bank is offering RD$16.50 to the US dollar. Some exchange houses may be offering more for the US$. While street vendors may offer even more to the US$, those making these purchases expose themselves to fraud.

The DR1 Message Board has not been running as usual because of problems with our server. The US-based server, Pair, recently upgraded their operating software that caused our message board database to crash. The company says it expects the problem to be resolved within the next 48 hours. The message board will be up as …

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President Hipólito Mejía upon returning from Panama where he attended the Iberoamerican Summit took the stand to defend the increase of taxes his government has proposed. The package of new tax bills is in Congress. President Mejía urged sacrifices from the business sector and the wealthy to help the poor. He says that the revenues …

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President Hipólito Mejía stressed the plight of Haiti and the burden carried by the Dominican Republic that has already admitted more than one million indigent Haitians. As political matters worsen in the neighboring country, illegal Haitian migration to the DR increases. Mejía again urged the assistance of the international community to help Haiti, and thus …

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The Superintendent of Electricity Jose Ovalles requested the assistance of the Police to arrest persons that are found disconnecting or dismantling public lighting. In a letter to the chief of the Police, the Superintendence urges that "whoever is found disconnecting or dismantling public lighting without the authorization of the CDE or this Superintendence, no matter …

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The government is contemplating privatizing the transmission of electricity, said President Hipólito Mejía in Panama, where he attended the Iberoamerican Summit. He said the government does not have the money to invest in revamping this area and is open to private sector participation. "We have had to shut down generating plants due to an excess …

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Former President Leonel Fernández (1996-2000) confirmed he would address the nation on Monday, 25 November. Fernández had practically remained mute since the start of the new government, despite accusations rolled against the PLD and his government by the new incumbents. Fernández, who is expected to be a strong contender in the 2004 election, had given …

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The Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) convention opened on Saturday, 18 November in Santo Domingo. During the three-month affair that ends 26 January 2001, the third largest party seeks to define where it’s at and where it’s headed. On the agenda are decisions regarding the in depth transforming or not of the structures of …

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The Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo formally begins its work tonight with the inauguration of a workshop in which three former Latin American presidents will be participating. These are Eduardo Frei (Chile), Armando Calderón (El Salvador) and Ramiro de León (Guatemala). Former President Leonel Fernández will give the opening address at 8 pm at the …

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