And yet according to many, the country is "falling apart." Yeah, millions were spend on the Metro but the country still has managed to grow in just about every sector and unemployment decreased; we have had one of the highest growth rates in the last 3 yrs. But still, so many complain and paint a different picture. This is why Leonel will stay for another 4 yrs.

There is also a bridge for sale in Brooklyn.


"The Reservas bank administrator Daniel Toribio said in 2007 it obtained the highest gains in its history, of RD$3.25 billion, for a 9.9 percent growth compared with 2006."

We shall believe another bank executive, after all they are so truthful like the guys from BANINTER.

Mayimbe, do you have any relatives in the DR? ask them how things are. THe reason I say this is that we all need to look at things from different points of views. Growth is great, but what if that growth only benefits a few? is that growth still good? The Banco de Reservas could continue growing at record levels, but until this benefits my Uncle, who owns a stove-repair shop, or my cousin who owns a hardware store, and a countless number of others who are living in economic precariousness, then the record growth of the Banco de Reservas or the GDP means nothing.

So, I applaud this news of growth, now I ask when is this going to benefit the public- besides not having to bail out the banking sector again ;-)

Any type of growth, regardless of the sector, is good for the country. In this specific case, the fact that the bank reported growth, means that there has been a lot of movement within the real estate, business sectors among others. I do have a lot of family in the DR. I have an aunt who has been able to obtain a loan through a governmental program that provides training and support to open up a hair salon in the capital. Even if the entire country doesn't feel the growth, you have to understand that it takes time for the country as a whole to benefit from this growth. It's the same with the US or any other country; if the Real Estate sector for example has grown, that everyone in the entire country is doing well or that your feel it personally.

Growth is better than decline, that's for sure - recognizing the good ;) - but is the growth that is taking place the most effective to redistribute the wealth? to reduce poverty? According to ECLAC, this is not the case.

Growth alone is not enough to reduce inequality and poverty. We need explicit policies that target these issues. If we hope that the wealth will "trickle down", then we'll find our poverty and inequality increasing. If these issues are not a priority that are "mainstreamed" into politics, then the hope that growth will trickle down, is a utopian myth.

I'm glad your aunt got the loan. I hope her Salon goes well :-) My mom has a Salon in our town, and it's always busy, but when I'm there, people just don't have any money to pay so they get things down on credit. I hope the Capital is doing better.

Ppl may not have money bc dominicans really don't know how to manage money well. Somehow they always have enough for alcohol and getting their hair done. These are the same ppl that are given homes by the gov and they sell it and move back to their shacks. The government has created many programs so that ppl can progress but they just don't take advantage. A lot has to do with the ppl and their willingness to help themselves. I see the same here in NY w/ many hispanics (and blacks for that matter); the gov can offer to pay their entire tuition and even give them extra money. But do they take advantage? no (some yes, but most don't). For those that do want to progress however (in the DR as well), there ARE opportunities and this gov. HAS created programs. A lot more has to be done, and much more money should and must be invested but these are things that should be recognized and applauded bc no other gov. has invested more in such a short period of time.

Mayimbe, be careful when you throw statements about, such as ¨any type of growth is good for the country¨ .let me give you a hypothetical situation, to cast doubt on what you say. let us try to visualise a situation in which a smallpox pandemic hits a country. the hospitals quickly become overcrowded, so all available buildings, including hotels , have to be converted to hospitals. building contractors and renovators are making a fortune. importers of construction materials are getting wildly rich, not to mention the pharmaceutical sector. medical providers are hitting the jackpot. because of the anarchy, looting breaks out; more police are hired, and the rich all get watchmen and expensive guard dogs. people are afraid to travel, so more cellphones are sold so people can stay in touch with their relatives. the beneficiaries from the bonanza all buy more bmw and ferrari cars. the gdp goes through the roof; 9% growth!!!. meanwhile, tourism dies, because no one wants to come here

uninformed people refuse to import from us, because they think they will be infected. exports dry up, and the balance of trade goes into the tank. do you believe that we would be better off simply because the gdp went up?

Dreadlocks, that's not the case here. Now you sound like an extremist.

Mayimbe, it was a hypothetical to show that not all types of growth are beneficial. Maybe this can help drive the point home- assume that in a given year the earnings of divorce lawyers go up 5000%. Is that necesarily good? Not necessarilly.

Many people make the simple argument that "Growth is better than no growth." All else equal, this may be the case; but all else is not equal and one needs to look at the nuances of our reality - environment, distribution, trade deficit, human rights, etc. If growth causes our import levels to go up, and the nation to go further into debt, and our interest rates to go up, is that good?

Mayimbe, bare with me for a minute in a mental exercise. What would you say if the DR experienced 10% GDP growth rates, but in that year inequality and poverty rates increase? Let me know what you think... I'm truly curious.

The point is that this specific type of growth is good for the DR. Why can't this just be accepted? instead you bring up other things to try to bring down the news. Again, I understand that we should see the good and the bad but it's really questionable when all you guys do is bash the DR: good or bad news...it will be bad news to you guys. THIS IS GOOD NEWS. PERIOD.

Extreme poverty has decreased baldoria. But yes, the inequality has increased and this has to be worked on. One of the main goals for the current admin is to focus on fairer distribution of wealth; now that we have recovered from the 03' crisis, I think this can be done through several social projects. Of course the increase of inequality is bad; this has to be changed and worked on; the gov. has failed to do so but I'm pretty sure that this is the route we are headed to. But this article that you just....THIS IS GOOD NEWS and you fail to see that...or some here say "yeah, this is good BUT bla bla so its not good"

Until I see the profits floating down to the Barriors in the form of productive jobs, I'll be critical of these news. Until I see development indicators going up instead of down, I'll be critical of double digit growth.

It's easy to bask in the glory of the positive news and numbers fed to us by the powers that be, but it would be irresponsible for me to accept, uncritically, such news when I know that people - my friends and relatives, my townspeople, my compatriots - lack of opportunity, risk their lives in a yola, are not able to afford medical service for themselves or their children, drop out of school b/c they have to work to help the family. As long as these social injustice persist, it is my duty to yell out - "Hey, the emperor has no cloths on!" So yes, I accept that Banco de R. grew, but show me that the benefits are getting to the poorest of the poor and not buying executives or politicians SUVs or luxury apartments and that's when I'll be the first to applaud such news.

Mayimbe, you confuse me. you make the statement that " this specific type of growth is good", but i do not know what type you are talking about. what '' specific" type of growth? and i gave you a hypothetical to express that not all positive indices mean positive results. the gdp is merely a tally of the value of all goods and services transacted within the economy within the year. which means that when drug dealers and money launderers buy real estate, that is part of gdp growth. are you saying that you welcome such contraband activities, because they help the gdp to show increasing rises? besides, not all growth is good, because it comes with a cost. so, if we increase housing starts, but, in order to make building materials we have to ravage the river beds, is that progress? if we increase agricultural production by using toxic pesticides and fertilisers which damage the soil, are we doing just great? if we increase electricity production by constructing power plants which

pollute the economy and destroy peoples respiratory systems, is that what you call advancement? and let us say we have a net increase in employment of 1000 people; do you think that if the figure represents 1000 good jobs lost, but 2000 low paying jobs gained, that we have done well? you see, Mayimbe, as the late Sir Winston Churchill quipped," there are lies, damn lies,and statistics."

Baldoria: A "third world country" doesn't go from high inflation, high unemployment, etc. to becoming a first world country in a short pd of time. These things take time. No government, no president (not even you) would be able to create this type of miracle in 4 yrs. As long as you think all of your barrio friends will go from rags to riches or even middle class within 4 yrs, you will never be satisfied bc. There aren't great jobs bc the DR is not ready for high paying jobs; the HR just isn't in place for that yet.

Dreadlocks, its obvious not all types of growth is good but you're going all over the place talking about random things that were not mentioned in the article. What proof do you have that this growth (banreservas) is all or mostly due to drugs, pesticides, or whatever other things you say? Again, if this article was to say "dominican state bank posts lowest in history" you would be complaining just as much.

Mayimbe, this is a pointless exercise discussing things with you when you describe them as BS.
you stated on january 15th that " any type of growth, regardless of the sector, is good for the country" i merely pointed out to you that your statement is incorrect, and chose to use different examples. these are hypotheticals, Mayimbe, to show that you cannot simply take the data at face value, you have to analyse it. last year the gdp went up by 7.9%, of which 2% was sale of cellphones. if you consider that a call to rejoice, be my guest. yes, Mayimbe, almost 25% of the growth was cellphone sales, if you factor in the margins of error. you think i am all over the place with my examples, but, since there are so many instances in which statistics mean nothing, i have to give you many examples to ponder!

Yes, I did say that, and you're right, technically not all types of growth are good but I figured you're bright enough to know that I didn't mean drug or pesticides as sectors, even if they are. I apologize if I offended you by describing them as BS but sometimes you go all over the place and describe situations that really aren't necessary to prove your point when there is a point to be made.

no need to apologise, Mayimbe; i know that you are not a mean -spirited guy. the reason i mentioned drugs and other contraband is that the proceeds of their purveyance gets included in the gdp. so ,even though this is not necessarily the case, we could be benefiting statistically from unsavory activity which does make for social improvement. if a drug dealer buys a million dollar home, its part of the mix,you see!

What a great dialogue...

It's obvious that development will take time, but when it is not an explicit priority, it will NEVER occur! If you don't Explicitly target inequality and poverty as social ills, and ACTIVELY work to address these problems, then they will never be addressed. You can have 100% growth!

Development needs political will and planning. And the current mentality (PLD) is not of a broadly diversified development scheme that benefits all equaly. Unfortunately, the other political parties have not presented an alternative to the PLD, but this does not mean that we need to accept the skewed economic policies that benefit the rich more than they benefit the poor. If we remain complacent, nothing will ever change.

I often say that change has to come from us, the people, b/c the rich who benefit from the system don't see anything wrong with it! So, until I see a clear policy program, which we are working on, targeting inequality and poverty, I'll be unsatisfied.

my fellow dominicans, why so negative thoughs. The Dominican Republic is still growing, and people are still thinking that the government is the one to take care of them economicly and with housing. No,No to make progress the people should work for the country this is how you make your currency strong against the rest. On the other hand, one way that life in the dominican republic could change for the better is when a group of internatiol invester get toguether and plant a nuclear generator for electricity. I,m wondering what happen to that talk when Leonel Fernandez spoke with ConEdison of New York on this possibility?.

there is never any bad news when the country is doing well. people should just stop thinking that the country ows them somthing. people should just save their money and stop drinking presidente and brugal. and you will see how the money will rotate evenly between workers.

sorry, Chads, but forget the nuclear plant scenario. there is no way that the usa will ever allow that to happen. puerto rico is a stone´s throw away, and a nuclear accident here would devastate american holdings there. let us try to figure out the conventional methods of generating electricity first before we talk of nuclear: it aint going to happen!!