2004 – Page 175

Former Vice-President of the Republic Jacinto Peynado was admitted to the Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami for surgery last weekend. He was reportedly operated to free an obstruction of his colon. Peynado has been living in Miami since last year in order to treat his colon cancer. Last month he endorsed the candidacy of former …

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The Central Electoral Board (JCE) ran a simulated election on Friday that revealed several flaws in the computer programs that will be used to report the voting results from the various provinces. According to El Caribe newspaper, the JCE had to conduct the simulation for several hours so that the technical staff could adjust the …

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There will be 372,825 new voters for the upcoming elections. Slightly over half of them are women, and nearly two-thirds of reside in urban areas. The JCE detected 61,371 individuals on the voting rolls who were underage, but who would be 18 by the time of the election. The personal identity and voter registration cards …

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Bernardo Vega comments today in El Caribe newspaper on the high cost Dominicans have assumed so that their expatriated fellow Dominicans can vote. He says that if each of the 52,600 Dominicans living abroad were to vote, it would mean a cost of US$741 per vote, since the country has spent US$39 million to equip …

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Most of the weekend?s papers featured articles on the rising cost of a US dollar, and the Central Bank?s publication of a communiqu? that states that the election campaign is affecting the exchange markets. According to Diario Libre newspaper, the Central Bank chided the candidates for what it called ?imprudent? handling of the economic themes …

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Jos? Fajgenbaum, the IMF official for the Western Hemisphere Division, told reporters that the IMF expects to continue conversations with Dominican officials as they develop options to permit the fulfillment of the economic program for this year. According to the IMF representative, these definitions should be ready within a few weeks. Fajgenbaum gave his statement …

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The economic section of the government-intervened List?n Diario reports that the state subsidy for electricity and propane gas will reach RD$11.3 billion, a RD$5 billion (or 79.36%) increase over the 2004 budget figures. The 2004 budget had allocated RD$6.3 billion for the subsidies, and in the first quarter the government had already spent RD$3.9 billion. …

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Sunday?s edition of El Caribe newspaper reported that telephone, cable and electricity service will continue to pinch the family purse. According to the paper, these services are now a privilege for some. The ?Gonzalez family? ? a fictitious entity ? has two professional parents with three children, for instance. They had to remove the ?0? …

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Consular officials say that the new policy of ?no appointments? is more practical for them and for those who seek visas. According to the Diario Libre, dozens of people seeking visas at the Consulate Low Countries located on the Max Henr?quez Ure?a Street are converting the Piantini residential area into an improvised area of business …

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One in every ten people attempting to get to Puerto Rico by small boat ends up losing their lives, according to a recent study reported by today?s El Caribe. The International Organization for Migration (OIM) believes that this figure is accurate. The OIM representative in the Dominican Republic, Juan Artola, also believes that three in …

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