2004 – Page 159

Flavio Dario Espinal, the dean of the law school at the PUCMM, comments today on the present government?s knack for passing off economic problems to a third party. He recalls how the Mejia administration blamed the economic predicaments of the nation on the 9/11 terrorist attack, speculation in the exchange markets, the financial oligarchy of …

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Diario Libre newspaper?s top story today is that of the pension Central Bank Governor Jose Lois Malkun, under whose stewardship the country has suffered the worst financial depreciation in its history, an economic collapse and a sizeable increase in poverty. Lois Malkun will reportedly receive more than a RD$500,000 monthly pension upon retiring from his …

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Economist Frederic Emam-Zade says that given the mix of policies implemented by the government and the trends that several monetary and fiscal variables are following, the government could potentially end its term with an exchange rate of RD$70-RD$80 to the US dollar and inflation of 100%. The economic implications of this new collapse on the …

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Bulletin No. 8 of the National Emergency Commission (CNE) reports a death count of 300 due to the floods that affected Jimani in the Independencia province along the Haitian border. There are still around 375 people listed as missing. Those left homeless are estimated at around 5,000. These people have been taken in by friends …

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The Canadian government approved an immediate RD$2-million assistance fund and the United States government has donated US$50,000 in humanitarian aid. The government of Japan donated US$100,000 and the European Union has announced a package worth US$2.43 million, as reported in El Caribe. The Hotel & Restaurant Association is holding a drive to collect donations based …

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The Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) denounced the fact the Executive Branch has sent Congress a string of new legislation seeking to create obstacles for the new authorities? handling of funds when their term of office begins on 16 August. Reinaldo Pared Perez, the secretary general of the party, found it strange that after losing the …

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The United Nations Development Program urged President Hipolito Mejia to veto a bill that incorporates major changes in the makeup of its national parks. In a letter to the President, the UNDP says that if he ratifies the Sectoral Protected Area Bill, it would be a step backwards from all the advances made regarding environmental …

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Following the signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the Dominican Republic has been the big loser. In 2003, Central America exported to the DR US$85 million, while DR exports to Central America were only US$15.6 million. Lisandro Macarrulla, president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic, in an interview with Hoy …

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Adriano Miguel Tejada writes today in Diario Libre that the newest bit of gossip from the political rumor mill is that there is a drive to position PPH-PRD coordinator Eligio Jaquez as secretary of the Dominican Municipal League, the organization that handles the purse strings for the city governments of the country. He says that …

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Engineer Juan Ulises (Wiche) Garcia Saleta, 77, died yesterday in a triple car collision on the 6 de Noviembre Highway. The man better known as the father of Olympic sports in the Dominican Republic was returning to Santo Domingo from his Palmar de Ocoa beach home. Garcia Saleta is credited for the celebration of the …

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