2001 – Page 43

President Hipolito Mejia said that next week he will start the gradual reduction of the exchange commission. The commission was increased by 3.25% to 5% when the Fernandez administration chose not to pass on to consumers an increase in local fuel prices. The surcharge on foreign exchange transactions was to be eliminated once petroleum prices …

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As reported by El Siglo newspaper, the Coalition for an Independent Justice urged that the questioning of former President Leonel Fernandez and 15 former government officers be postponed until the National Council of the Magistracy chooses the three new judges. Francisco Alvarez, spokesman for the group, said the postponement would help to calm down the …

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Senator Jose Gonzalez Espinosa, a newly elected member of the National Council of the Magistracy, told El Siglo that he is against life terms for presidents of the Supreme Court. He feels the presidency should rotate. He said the members of the National Council of the Magistracy have yet to determine the agenda of the …

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The President’s legal advisor Guido Gomez Mazara says only 18 lawyers have formalized their request to become a Supreme Court judge. He mentioned that among these is Pedro Romero Confesor, a legal advisor during the Balaguer administration. The PLD object to his candidacy on the grounds that he is a militant PRSC party member. Political …

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Radhames Segura, a former general manager of the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE), announced yesterday his aspirations to become mayor of Santo Domingo running on the PLD ticket. He is the second to announce his plans. Already Roberto Salcedo, a TV producer who was the party’s candidate in the 1998 election, has announced he wants to …

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Former President Leonel Fernandez said in a press conference yesterday that he feels politically persecuted by the authorities. He said agents of the National Department of Investigations (DNI) trail him constantly. “I feel persecuted in the DR, my telephones at home and at my office are tapped and wherever I go I am followed by …

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Standard & Poor’s risk rating agency issued a BB classification to the placement of US$500 million bonds. It also improved credit ratings on the Dominican Republic from B+ to BB-. In a June update, the agency had said that with Central Bank reform or other key reform and improved external liquidity, the rating of the …

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