2005 – Page 153

Air Force Chief of Staff supports enabling military to vote in national elections. Diario Libre reports that Mayor General Nelson Eladio Marmolejos Acosto believes the decision should result from analysis and serious consideration, though. Former Army Chief Jorge Radhames Zorrilla Ozuna, and former Navy Chief of Staff Euripides Uribe Pequero, despite the ban, both openly …

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The Dominican Conference of Catholic Bishops warned about the consequences that the Criminal Code being discussed in Congress could have. The projected code de-criminalizes abortion under certain circumstances, something the bishops believe is an attack on human life. They oppose any action against life, even in the case of involuntary pregnancy, as could be the …

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A prosperous businessman from Higuey became yesterday the 20th individual arrested for extradition to the US in relation to the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo case. Juan Alfredo Cruz Crisostomo turned himself in and was sent to New York where he is accused of laundering assets resulting from drug trafficking. He is 57 years old and …

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President Leonel Fernandez announced that his government is looking into ways to increase oil-refining capacity and launched a Nation Energy Saving Plan. Speaking on his Sunday evening TV program, the President said that this would start with government entities in order to “set an example” for other businesses, both public and private. Fernandez told the …

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As was announced by President Fernandez last Tuesday, but was not widely circulated in the press, the price of propane gas began to “float” at the end of last week. For the first time since 2003, the price of propane gas began to move up and down according to the market. This week, the price …

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Electricity demand has climbed by 30-35% during the current heat wave, and, unfortunately, this will be reflected in this month’s electricity bills, according to Ede-Sur administrator Ruben Bichara. Electricity purchases by the distributors was US$58 million in April, but in May the figure climbed to US$79 million, mostly because of rising fuel costs and the …

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In what to some observers is a legacy of President Fernandez’ schooling in New York City, the National Dialogue process and its coordinator, Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado are proposing that the ideas of plebiscites and referendums be included in new constitutional revisions. These points should become subject to open debates in order to achieve a …

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Eminent economist Jose Luis Aleman, S.J., in an interview with Orlando Jorge Mera, says that while all governments past and present have been truly interested in reducing poverty in the Dominican Republic, their mistake has been in their approach to the issue. According to the priest, the solution is to provide better health and education …

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Bernardo Vega, the economist, historian and former Dominican ambassador to the United States, takes a look at the three major economic crises that the country has experienced over the past 20 years. In 1983-84 the government’s accounts at the BanReservas were overdrawn, and because of a lack of liquidity, the Central Bank began supplying the …

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Central Bank governor, Hector Valdez Albizu has said that there was plenty of money circulating and discounted stories indicating that the opposite was the case. He said that banks have begun to lend money to all the different economic sectors. According to the El Caribe, Valdez Albizu said that as of 15 June there was …

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