2021

Less tax revenues and more social spending during the Covid-19 pandemic have led to an increase in borrowing and consequentially in the national debt. The consolidated public debt closed in 2020 at about US$53 billion. Yet, the Central Bank is bullish, the Dominican economy is gradually yet firmly recovering. The Central Bank released on 4 …

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A referendum is a direct and universal vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. The referendum may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law. The referendum vote was included in the 2010 Constitution and maintained in the 2015 Constitution. Its implementation requires the previous …

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The Country Brand Multi-Sectorial Committee announces that 29 graphic designers and advertising students will participate in the reality show “A Republic Full of Talent” to choose the country’s brand logo. The event will also serve to socialize the country brand strategy. The winning logo would be presented to the nation in a televised program on …

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Thirty-four year old Aneydy Manuel Castillo García died when riding a motorcycle that collided with a SUV belonging to the escort of Vice President Raquel Peña. The Vice President caravan was returning to the Presidential Palace after she had attended an event to recognize outstanding women military at the Ministry of Defense. 47-year old Mekesedek …

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Energy and Mines Minister Antonio Almonte favors that the Economic and Social Council (CES), now with new membership, convene a new round of discussions to debate the 14 points where there have been disagreements in the recently signed Electricity Pact. Almonte says the meetings would be a way to “strengthen with new proposals the way …

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President Luis Abinader was present for the symbolic start of the expansion of the San Isidro avenue (Avenida Coronel Rafael Tomás Fernández Domínguez) in eastern Santo Domingo. The Ministry of Public Works says the expansion has a budget of more than RD$800 million. The expansion seeks to resolve the traffic chaos in the growing eastern …

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The Dominican Republic is one of the few countries in the Americas where in-person education has not officially been resumed. Dozens of private schools are offering reduced classes, but this is without official clearing. The Ministry of Education has invested heavily in distance learning programs and in providing computers for public school students. But Education …

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Haitian women in labor flock to Dominican maternity hospitals to take advantage of the free medical services. Local physicians complain the women usually suffer from anemia and other medical conditions. According to statistics from the Hospital Universitario Maternidad Nuestra Señora de La Altagracia in Santo Domingo, the number of births to Haitian mothers outnumber the …

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Ministry of Environment rangers and technical staff, firefighters and dozens of volunteers are working to put out the forest fires that have been raging through the Sierra de Baoruco, a scientific reserve in the southwest on the border with Haiti. Hundreds of pine trees, reptiles, birds and other species of fauna and flora have been …

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The Airport Department (DA) is preparing the draft for the authorization of the development of the Pedernales International Airport project. The government is seeking a public-private partnership to build the airport. The airport would be built in Cabo Rojo, described as the next great Dominican beach destination. The Pedernales Development Plan envisions the construction of …

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