SANTO DOMINGO.- President Leonel Fernandez yesterday said in the context of the global financial crisis, even in the worse case scenario, "for the country to fail the world would have to fail first.”
The chief executive said Dominican Republic’s challenge is to maintain economic growth with low inflation, and stability in the exchange rate and external accounts, and affirmed that the Government doesn’t plan to raise taxes.
He said it’s somewhat surprising that in last year’s fourth quarter, inflation was 4.5% from a projected 12%.
On the 2009 projections Fernandez said the Central bank projects a growth of three percent, compared with that of The Economist, which places it at a more moderate 1.0%.
Fernandez spoke on the topic Vision and priorities for the next five years, in the “Table of Businesses in the Dominican Republic, responding to the economic crisis global," organized by the The Economist Group, with the attendance of business leaders, specialists in international business and Government officials.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Dread .....Magic 8 Ball sil vous plait
From: United States
LF you run a failed country.
Drug mobs rule, your armed forces are a disgrace. Your swinging door justice system is pathetic.
Foreigners are targeted for crimes, you have to live in a house with bars on all doors and windows just to survive.
Pull your head out of your ass.
From: United States
nice little french touch there, GC. well, unless there is a tremendous spike in the gross exports, i fail to see how the figure of 3% is attainable in the current economic context. the receipts from british tourism are going to take a severe beating if the pound continues to lose value against the peso. last monday the exchange rate was 46 to 1, while at the same time last year the rate was 69 to 1. that should just about cripple that sector, given that fact that unemployment in britain has hit over 2 million, and rising. the euro continues to slide, also, and i need not explain the USA. the nickel mine is closed indefinitely, free zones are in freefall, and our production costs continue to spiral upwards due to the costs of producing whatever little electricity we do. the trade gap with the USA continues to grow, so, unless we find a new trading partner with warbucks money soon, net exports will continue to shrink. methinks Leo and his enablers are drinking too much of that mamajuana
From: United States, Richmond, Texas
Pretty bold statement from a guy who can not get people to pay light bills.
Written by: Jander, 19 Mar 2009 9:35 AM
From: Dominican Republic
"Pretty bold statement from a guy who can not get people to pay light bills."
Or drive like civilized human beings.
FYI The world is sort of failing , it has just become more difficult to cover it up.
I am looking at some beachfront property in Alaska ... LOL
Written by: juanb, 19 Mar 2009 9:44 AM
From: Dominican Republic
Gmiller: You got that right: The country is already failing. Failing to provide basic services, basic education and so many others.
Written by: MannyTav, 19 Mar 2009 10:17 AM
From: United States
I guess it all depends on your definition of "fail." I believe the country fails its citizens on a daily basis but what do the politicians and rich (one and the same we assume in one form or another) care as long as they maintain their lifestyle and increase their welath & holdings? Fail to those in control does not occurr unless they are out of power or have lost their economic base. The construction and so-called public works that benefit few at a great co$t to many are but monuments to which they can point to later on in life as symbols. No-bid contracts, undervalued and illegal selling of public lands, etc., etc., lead to the conclusion that things could be better with greater transparency and accountability.
From: United States
I agree with you GMiller I couldn't have said it better myself.
Written by: brootto, 19 Mar 2009 10:54 AM
From: United States, South West Florida
the problem is, that is more easy to hide the failure of dr the corruptions and the abilities of the goverment to be able to do whatever it wants is no brainier. Also there is no transparency here, look what happen in the usa there was very little transparency and everything start going down hill, deregulation of the financial sector, housing etc. And since el presidente speak very eloquent people tend to believe his bull s%$t. Dr is in a great disarray believe it or not the thing his how can you report this if everything is push under the rug. soon you will see that the government wont be able to hide all it corruption and mess. Dominicans beware of the mess that await us.
Written by: Escott, 19 Mar 2009 12:14 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Cabrera and Sosua a 2 days a month for payday
I disagree on transparency here. I think it is as transparent as possible. Government, police, judges are corrupt, uncultured and uncivilized. Those of us living here who have a dollar or two work around it and sometimes even use it to our benefits.
Until this country changes its evil ways and its mindset it will remain a terrible country for the bottom half which thank goodness I don't fall into.
Written by: brootto, 19 Mar 2009 12:25 PM
From: United States, South West Florida
reasons why now, repeat now you see all of thier evil doing is because the glass is already full so it is spilling and to give so credit to some individual by bringing it to light.
From: United States
i agree with the general trend in these comments...however like the dominicans say:
"f u and if you dont like this country go back to where you came from" or something to that effect -- when you(an extranjero) start picking on their homeland. If you're a dominican giving the critique they just usually agree.
Written by: temetito, 19 Mar 2009 4:02 PM
From: Dominican Republic
I don't really care what anybody says, I would never trade the DR for this a?? Sh??t country, that is full of tecatos and criminals etc etc etc... The DR still, and will always be the best country to live. Freedom baby!!!
Written by: antonio1, 19 Mar 2009 5:08 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Av Santa Rosa, La Romana
Little heavy on the phallic language there, Gmiller, downright fixated as an objective observer might say. Wonder why?. It seen like LF is going to induce you to a blood-pressure driven stroke.
From: United States
Strong statement. Iceland has failed flatly on its back. Poland is failing. Israel is in the worst economic condition ever since its inception. England is in very bad economic shape where a village is being sold for $35 million with the 40 people that live in it. Leonel may have some monetary reserve that we don't know about.
From: Dominican Republic, Punta cana
If one has access to the real numbers, especially after next high season the tone will certainly change. many of the vacations for the current high season were purchased before the down turn.
The tourist dollar floats the boat in this country, next season will be considerably leaner.
From: Dominican Republic
Leonel what about JOB CREATION? The population growths every month and fraction of the population looking for jobs is also growing weekly! SO HOW WOULD YOU KEEP UNEMPLOYMENT LOW? Even underemployment?
From: Dominican Republic
I'm always fascinated by the negative perspectives of the contributors here. One only gets screwed by the corrupt elements when you expose yourself to them. Except for dealing with aduanas (have to), I avoid the police like the plague. If you want to help the "bottom half", give them a job. Educate them. Tell them why a vote for the president which is bought with 500 or 1,000 pesos is NOT DEMOCRACY.
Every way in which the negative comments come, I could give you the reciprocal in the US or ANY western country.
I love the DR for my own reasons. I understand the need for education and training. I intend to use the hotel I'll be building to train Dominicans in tourism. I don't want to get rich, I just want a beautiful life where your loved one sings to you. They don't do that in the US.
I know many missionary types in the DR that are doing the positive work, while you all whine.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Whine and complain
From: United States
Captain , i admire your spirit. i hardly think that anyone whines about the good works of good men. i have no idea how long you have been here, but i hope your positive spin on things does not become debilitated with the passage of time. with the risk of sounding crass, the fact that you can afford to buy a hotel suggests that you have the kind of resources, at least monetarily, to weather certain conditions. you see, Captain, this is the reality: if you get into a scrape with the law, the strength of your cash insulates you from legal recriminations. John Doe, who has just enough to buy the next platano, gets sent to jail on something akin to a writ of attainder. the magistrate orders him into "preventive custody", which is incarceration, pending trial. then, after 3, or six, or maybe more months, he is then given a trial. so, he can do a year in jail, and be found innocent. pray you never get to that point.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Welcome to the " Extremely Tolerant Pioneers Club " of the Dominican Republic
Written by: Trujillo, 21 Mar 2009 12:09 AM
From: Dominican Republic
I love the optimism.
From: Dominican Republic
dread,
If you noticed, I said "I don't want to get rich", which means I'm not. I'm not going to buy this hotel, I'm going to build it with the help and hard labour of Dominicans in my pueblo. I then want to employ them to work and learn.
I have to balance my love for the freedoms the DR has to offer, as compared with the "false freedoms" the USA espouses, and the dangers of the DR. I've been told: if a Dominican gets in trouble, it will cost him $1,500 pesos to solve their problem. If an American gets in trouble it will cost him $50,000 pesos to solve their problem. I have good connections, 3 good abogados in Puerto Plata, Sosua, & Samana. I hope I never have to call them to get me out of jail, but it wouldn't surprise me and part of me almost expects it. Good thing I've been locked up before.
When I heard about locking up Dominicans for stealing luce, I felt bad because I know it will be the poor people who they lock up.........
From: United States
as i said, Captain, i wish you well. just watch your back with those "abogado" types. no disrespect intended, but it appears to me that you are a little wet behind the ears regarding the way things eventuate in this neck of the woods. as old Jesse says, "keep hope alive", and full speed ahead.
From: Dominican Republic
dread II
As a last note, I have a girlfriend who I met at one of Pablo's Bahia Principe hotels. She believes the police are good. How could any mother or father in the DR raise their children to believe the authorities are good???? Could it be because they (familia) are good people who have faith and believe in God? Do they simply blindly support authority? Her own brother was screwed by the police when some crazy hit him on the moto and the police made HIM pay for the other guy's broken arm. I have many stories like this including numerous murders of locals and foreigners.
So, why do I love the DR?
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Capn read " Dont Stop The Carnival " it will explain everything to you......it is like a virus living in the Caribean once infected there is no cure only more rum and breezy nights....It is is to late for you..You can never go back
Written by: abc200, 21 Mar 2009 11:44 AM
From: United Kingdom
DR is lucky it can feed itself. It has friends like Venez to suppy oil - the only essential import. It has gold mines always useful in times of crisis. It can grow bamboo for housing. The metro cannot be carted away.
Adequate supplies of Rum ; an indiginous product; can be produced.
F is right the DR can carry on its merry way.
DR is like England in June:
Merry, merry England has kissed the lips of June;
All the wings of fairyland were here beneath the moon,
Like a flight of rose-leaves fluttering in a mist
Of opal and ruby and pearl and amethyst.
Merry, merry England is waking as of old,
With eyes of blither hazel and hair of brighter gold;
Love is in the greenwood building him a house
Of wild rose and hawthorn and honeysuckle boughs;
Love is in the greenwood, dawn is in the skies,
And Marian is waiting with glory in her eyes.
A. Noyez
S.
From: United States
adequate supplies of rum? seems like you took them all for yourself.
Written by: abc200, 21 Mar 2009 12:15 PM
From: United Kingdom
Sorry I forgot DR is famous for Amber and larimar. Some poet please re-write.
Dominican Republic
In the Dominican Republic, amber is mined north of the city of Santiago and in an area northeast of Santo Domingo. Several active, above-ground mines in the mountains near Santiago currently produce highly sought-after material, although they are producing less and less material each year. Current estimated production is about 50 to 100 kilograms per week, which includes the “marifinga” (small, barren amber pieces). This is a decline of at least 70 percent over the past 25 years.
About five kilograms of blue amber is being produced in the Santiago area each month, but only about a half kilogram is high-quality material. Red, yellow, and darker-colored amber is also found at the mines near Santiago, as well as nice insect-included material and good fossil specimens. Amber is still produced at the mines near Santo Domingo, but the material is of inferior quality, being softer and more
Written by: abc200, 21 Mar 2009 12:17 PM
From: United Kingdom
and more brittle than northern Dominican amber.
Larimar, a rare gemstone unique to the Dominican Republic, is mined in a volcanic mountain range in the southwestern region of the country. Most material is retrieved through open pit mining, although the Dominican government is making efforts to modernize the mining system.
Written by: abc200, 21 Mar 2009 12:28 PM
From: United Kingdom
When Dominicans such as F go abroard they carry treasure untold in the way of Shakepeare going to London:
When Shakespeare came to London
He met no shouting throngs;
He carried in his knapsack
A scroll of quiet songs.
No proud heraldic trumpet
Acclaimed him on his way;
Their court and camp have perished;
The songs live on for ay.
Nobody saw or heard them,
But, all around him there,
Spirits of light and music
Went treading the April air.
He passed like any pedlar,
Yet he had wealth untold.
The galleons of th' armada
Could not contain his gold.
The kings rode on to darkness.
In England's conquering hour,
Unseen arrived her splendour;
Unknown, her conquering power.
S.
Written by: abc200, 21 Mar 2009 2:37 PM
From: United Kingdom
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
the world knows you are a bushu artist and you have your drunken fantasies
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
From: Dominican Republic
Thank you GC, I enjoyed that article.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Capn dont forget the book I told you about " Dont Stop the Carnival " by Herman Wouk ....It is very funny and will still ring true in 50 years
Written by: abc200, 22 Mar 2009 10:22 AM
From: United Kingdom
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
From: United States
correction, GC. the article states that he ruled out devaluation as an option. besides, if you cannot pay your bills, then you REVALUE, not devalue. (just like the sudden revaluation of the Dominican peso after the Baninter fisaco.)
Written by: abc200, 22 Mar 2009 1:42 PM
From: United Kingdom
Small victory agaisnt US conspiricy! GC you should cheer on the free and independent people of the region!
S.
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LF you run a failed country.
Drug mobs rule, your armed forces are a disgrace. Your swinging door justice system is pathetic.
Foreigners are targeted for crimes, you have to live in a house with bars on all doors and windows just to survive.
Pull your head out of your ass.
Or drive like civilized human beings.
FYI The world is sort of failing , it has just become more difficult to cover it up.
I am looking at some beachfront property in Alaska ... LOL
Until this country changes its evil ways and its mindset it will remain a terrible country for the bottom half which thank goodness I don't fall into.
"f u and if you dont like this country go back to where you came from" or something to that effect -- when you(an extranjero) start picking on their homeland. If you're a dominican giving the critique they just usually agree.
Strong statement. Iceland has failed flatly on its back. Poland is failing. Israel is in the worst economic condition ever since its inception. England is in very bad economic shape where a village is being sold for $35 million with the 40 people that live in it. Leonel may have some monetary reserve that we don't know about.
The tourist dollar floats the boat in this country, next season will be considerably leaner.
Every way in which the negative comments come, I could give you the reciprocal in the US or ANY western country.
I love the DR for my own reasons. I understand the need for education and training. I intend to use the hotel I'll be building to train Dominicans in tourism. I don't want to get rich, I just want a beautiful life where your loved one sings to you. They don't do that in the US.
I know many missionary types in the DR that are doing the positive work, while you all whine.
If you noticed, I said "I don't want to get rich", which means I'm not. I'm not going to buy this hotel, I'm going to build it with the help and hard labour of Dominicans in my pueblo. I then want to employ them to work and learn.
I have to balance my love for the freedoms the DR has to offer, as compared with the "false freedoms" the USA espouses, and the dangers of the DR. I've been told: if a Dominican gets in trouble, it will cost him $1,500 pesos to solve their problem. If an American gets in trouble it will cost him $50,000 pesos to solve their problem. I have good connections, 3 good abogados in Puerto Plata, Sosua, & Samana. I hope I never have to call them to get me out of jail, but it wouldn't surprise me and part of me almost expects it. Good thing I've been locked up before.
When I heard about locking up Dominicans for stealing luce, I felt bad because I know it will be the poor people who they lock up.........
As a last note, I have a girlfriend who I met at one of Pablo's Bahia Principe hotels. She believes the police are good. How could any mother or father in the DR raise their children to believe the authorities are good???? Could it be because they (familia) are good people who have faith and believe in God? Do they simply blindly support authority? Her own brother was screwed by the police when some crazy hit him on the moto and the police made HIM pay for the other guy's broken arm. I have many stories like this including numerous murders of locals and foreigners.
So, why do I love the DR?
Adequate supplies of Rum ; an indiginous product; can be produced.
F is right the DR can carry on its merry way.
DR is like England in June:
Merry, merry England has kissed the lips of June;
All the wings of fairyland were here beneath the moon,
Like a flight of rose-leaves fluttering in a mist
Of opal and ruby and pearl and amethyst.
Merry, merry England is waking as of old,
With eyes of blither hazel and hair of brighter gold;
Love is in the greenwood building him a house
Of wild rose and hawthorn and honeysuckle boughs;
Love is in the greenwood, dawn is in the skies,
And Marian is waiting with glory in her eyes.
A. Noyez
S.
Dominican Republic
In the Dominican Republic, amber is mined north of the city of Santiago and in an area northeast of Santo Domingo. Several active, above-ground mines in the mountains near Santiago currently produce highly sought-after material, although they are producing less and less material each year. Current estimated production is about 50 to 100 kilograms per week, which includes the “marifinga” (small, barren amber pieces). This is a decline of at least 70 percent over the past 25 years.
About five kilograms of blue amber is being produced in the Santiago area each month, but only about a half kilogram is high-quality material. Red, yellow, and darker-colored amber is also found at the mines near Santiago, as well as nice insect-included material and good fossil specimens. Amber is still produced at the mines near Santo Domingo, but the material is of inferior quality, being softer and more
Larimar, a rare gemstone unique to the Dominican Republic, is mined in a volcanic mountain range in the southwestern region of the country. Most material is retrieved through open pit mining, although the Dominican government is making efforts to modernize the mining system.
When Shakespeare came to London
He met no shouting throngs;
He carried in his knapsack
A scroll of quiet songs.
No proud heraldic trumpet
Acclaimed him on his way;
Their court and camp have perished;
The songs live on for ay.
Nobody saw or heard them,
But, all around him there,
Spirits of light and music
Went treading the April air.
He passed like any pedlar,
Yet he had wealth untold.
The galleons of th' armada
Could not contain his gold.
The kings rode on to darkness.
In England's conquering hour,
Unseen arrived her splendour;
Unknown, her conquering power.
S.
http://www.poppyfields.net/poppy/songs/oldwoman.html
The Luminary L travels the World spreading the good news about the DR.
S.
GC is a US patriot and loves US patriots supports US !
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,6826,00.html
Justice is takeing place in Bolivia!
http://therealnews.com/t/index.ph....;task=videodirectlink&id=1000
F. Supports Bolivia.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/....-support-for-Bolivias-Evo-Morales
The Bolivian revolution moves forward!
Bolivia leads the fight against US conspiricy in the region!
http://www.france24.com/en/200903....mat-martinez-expulsion-conspiracy
So the DR, far from failing, is led by F to a new and greater destiny with the help of friends in the region!
S.
S.