dreadlocks previously said:

i beg to differ with DominicanChic regarding the assertion that Dominican Americans can turn the country around "in no time". what aspects of the country do you refer to? surely, the economy cannot be turned around without a functioning energy sector. Leonel promised 12 years ago that he would fix the electricity sector, and it is worse today than it was then. secondly, the economy can never function at even close to optimally without a revamping of the education system. socially, the biggest problem is the extreme inequality in the distribution of wealth and opportunity. the country is a typical Latin american ex-colony, wherein a very few interconnected families own and control everything. the only way the society and economy will ever change is to expunge the stranglehold that the oligarchy holds over the society. the institutions which retard the development in the country are ingrained artifacts of the culture; corruption being the major offender. i am not optimistic that returning Dominican americans can do much; they can set up businesses which function more efficiently than those operated by locals. they will wear their seat belts, and obey the laws of the road. they will not run every red light. but these are minor, incremental, marginal issues, which have diminimus effect on the larger society. the overall culture will function in an equivalent fashion, as long as the same ruling classes continue to set the agenda.