2004 – Page 251

Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez warned that President Hipolito Mejia, his family and the country would regret the statesman’s nomination as the official PRD candidate for the 16 May election. The cardinal said that in spite of the many times he has plainly said that Mejia should not seek re-election, the President went ahead …

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Hoy newspaper is reporting that President Mejia told his TV audience that he received a call from PLD spokesman Euclides Gutierrez Felix, who told him that an attempt would be made on the life of former President Leonel Fernandez during the massive caravan held last 26 January. Mejia told his audience that Police Chief Jaime …

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The National Council of Social Security (CNSS) reports that as of 31 December 2003, 982,774 (or 66.13%) of a total 1,486,504 employees have been signed up for the national pension system. Of these, 659,241 (or 67%) are having deductions made from their paychecks to contribute to the nine Administradoras de Fondos de Pensions (AFPs) and …

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Moody’s Investors Service relegated the Dominican Republic’s foreign currency country ceiling for debt to B3 from B2. In its announcement, Moody’s said the downgrading reflected the heightened risk of a rescheduling of the country’s rated instruments in the context of a strained external liquidity position. In addition, Moody’s reduced the ranking of bonds issued by …

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International agency Fitch Ratings also announced a downgrading of the DR’s rating, citing the government’s inability to pay the US$27-million interest payment due 23 January as the reason for the demotion from B to CCC+, with a negative outlook being maintained. According to Fitch, the missed payment could potentially be a reflection of underlying financial …

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Leading economist Bernardo Vega warns that the proposed new agreement with the IMF might meet the same fate as the first agreement signed last August. In his opinion, the IMF agreement is the only way to stop the devaluation of the peso. The accord is expected to be approved by the IMF directorate in mid-February, …

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The proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Dominican Republic and the United States will be seen by foreign investors, especially those from Spain, as a positive sign that could attract investments. Mario Garcia Alverez, the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Dominican Republic, told reporters from the Listin Diario …

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El Caribe reports that the continuing 14-hour long blackouts that are hitting areas in every part of the country are not easily solved. The energy deficit over the weekend reached 800MW – or about 50% of total demand. Yesterday, the generator Macoris I entered the grid with 100MW of energy. According to company-supplied information, Ede-Norte, …

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The board of directors of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA) called the Duarte Bridge “unsafe for any use” due to the poor condition of all the parts of the bridge linking the eastern and western parts of Santo Domingo. The bridge is the oldest of the four that cross the Ozama …

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El Caribe reported on Saturday that beginning in the 90s, when the Dominican Republic went through a severe economic crisis, and then again, in the middle of that decade, an electoral crisis, the incidence of illegal migration increased markedly. Today, we are seeing the same phenomenon. During the year 2003, the authorities intercepted 1,469 illegal …

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