2004 – Page 108

The national power grid suffered two complete nationwide blackouts in 48 hours. These outages took place at 2:41pm on Sunday and at 2:11pm on Monday. Power generation is said to be averaging 700 megawatts, which is about one third of the demand at peak hours. Power plants have shut down or reduced their output, given …

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Listin Diario political commentator Orlando Gil speculates that President Hipolito Mejia has chosen his new farm home in San Cristobal as his new base, where he will spend most of his time after leaving the Presidency. Gil recalls that President Mejia had said several times that he would retire to his hometown of Gurabo, in …

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The Mejia administration has declared two days of mourning (8 and 9 August) in observance of the death of former Vice-President Jacinto Peynado (1994-96), who passed away yesterday in Miami of colon cancer. A wake will be held for Peynado on Wednesday 11 August at the Funeraria Caballero y Miami. His remains will arrive in …

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A record number of heads of state and government is expected for the inauguration of President-elect Leonel Fernandez to take place on 16 August. Felix (Felucho) Jimenez, in charge of organizing the event, said that 12 foreign leaders have confirmed their attendance. These are Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Boniface Alexander (Haiti), Alvaro Uribe (Colombia), Mireya Moscoso …

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With a majority of members in favor, a special convention of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) revoked the party bylaw that banned members of the organization?s political committee from accepting jobs in government. President-elect Leonel Fernandez and Vice-President-elect Rafael Alburquerque were on hand at the convention.

Economist Vicente Bengoa, who President-elect Leonel Fernandez announced would become his Finance Minister on 16 August, is warning against purchasing the hundreds of vehicular tax exemptions issued by the Mejia administration in its final days. He said he would emulate the actions of Joaquin Balaguer in 1986, who refused to honor the import tax exemptions …

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Franco Uccelli of Bear Stearns writes today to question the real motives for the hiring of the Bondholder Communication Group to complete a list of the principal holders of Dominican sovereign bonds. The list had been partially compiled by UBS during the days of renegotiating the debt with the Paris Club. Uccelli says that the …

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Eduardo Jorge Prats, a legal advisor to former Central Bank Governor Frank Guerrero Prats, writes today in El Caribe on the perils contained within Law 92-04, which creates the Exceptional Program for Prevention of Systematic Bank Risk. He criticizes that the Monetary and Financial Administration (AMF) authorities backed a law that eliminates the limits on …

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Four Dominican medalists from the Santo Domingo Pan American Games and one gold medalist in the Olympic pre-trial competitions will comprise the Dominican boxing team in Athens. The boxers aspire to repeat Pedro Julio Nolasco?s feat in 1984, when he took bronze, the DR?s first and only Olympic medal. El Caribe newspaper carries a report …

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After a long battle with colon cancer, former Vice President Jacinto Peynado died yesterday morning at Miami?s Mount Sinai Hospital, with his wife Margarita and son Manuel at his side. The 63-year-old Peynado was descended from a long line of politicians, becoming a prominent member of the PRSC party and serving as senator for Santo …

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