Luis Abinader’s new way of governing, with an administration focused on solving the real problems of citizens, clearly stands out from other Central American countries, which are on the brink of popular uprising due to the inefficiency of the measures adopted.
The global crisis is hitting household economies worldwide. This is the most challenging part of the current situation: as corporate greed increases the profit margins of large companies, the middle and working classes suffer the most critical consequences of the powerful’s games.
In response to this situation, almost all governments worldwide are using state resources to mitigate the pernicious effects of the crisis. However, the reaction to these measures and the capacities of countries have been exposed. In Central America, for example, we see two completely opposite scenarios.
In the Dominican Republic, thanks to the measures adopted by Luis Abinader, the Dominican people are observing that the impact of the unreasonable increase in energy and fuel prices, with the subsequent transfer to the cost of basic products, is not as severe as in other countries in the Central America and Caribbean region.
The best example of this is found in some Central American countries, which initially had a well-established socio-economic stability and are now on the brink of insurrection due to the policies applied by their governments.
These countries have always been considered the “Switzerland of Central America” due to their enormous revenues and financial sector, where many people earn a lot of money by covering or hiding the fortunes of the world’s wealthy.
However, their governments, unlike Luis Abinader’s in the Dominican Republic, fail to manage the social consequences of the various crises ravaging the world: energy, food, supply, and the war in Ukraine. The combination of these three factors has led to inflation that drastically impoverishes the middle and lower classes. Consequently, governments have had to decide whether to govern for the people or prioritize other issues.
In Central American countries, citizen mobilizations, road blockades, and protests have become commonplace in recent weeks. The discontent of a people who felt secure has been overwhelmed by the rising prices of food, medicine, and fuel.
In some cases, governments only react with measures to mitigate the consequences of the crisis when they see that social unrest is already a reality, especially when non-productive sectors, such as education, lead the protests,
quickly joined by unions from productive sectors, social organizations, and other groups.
Speaking to the BBC, protest leaders stated they are not seeking a collapse of the system but rather an institutional change to implement a government system focused on the people’s needs, rather than the neoliberal model in place since the American invasion in 1989. This model, as it has happened in all parts of the world where it has been implemented, has increased inequalities to unsustainable levels, placing the country among the most unequal in the Americas.
Unlike what happens in these states, the President of the Dominican Republic began applying stimulus measures and subsidies on fuel and basic food items as soon as it was clear that escalating prices would have a devastating effect on the population.
Abinader was able to react thanks to his ability to analyze the international situation. This is why fuel prices do not affect the Dominican Republic in the same way as other countries. Abinader has made the people’s needs a matter of state and has not hesitated to put the country’s resources at the citizens’ service, regardless of the cost.
The people, especially in times of crisis, do not want words from their rulers. They demand actions, and that’s what Abinader is doing, even if some want to manipulate them to satisfy their own interests through populism and deceptive propaganda.
In both Europe and North America, it has been observed that while the economy recovered after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, employment figures fell, inequalities increased, and states prioritized these macroeconomic figures to the detriment of daily microeconomics. In some European countries, like Spain, the pre-crisis situation has not yet been restored.
In the Dominican Republic, however, Luis Abinader’s macroeconomic figures, which are so positive and demonstrate the current president’s administration’s efficiency, have a direct impact on the living conditions of the Dominican population. This, moreover, overcomes the severe difficulties of the current global crises, caused by the games of great powers, which are in no way the responsibility of the Abinader Administration.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), GDP per capita figures, that is, the economic indicator that measures the relationship between the country’s income level and its population, indicate that since Luis Abinader has been at the helm of the Dominican State, it has increased from $18,620 to $23,980.
At the peak of this ratio, during the PLD governments, it reached $19,990. In other words, in just two years, with all external factors against him, Abinader managed to surpass the figures by $4,000. Furthermore, according to IMF forecasts, the figure of $27,410 will be reached in 2024.
This positive and undisputable result is the main reason why foreign investments in the Dominican Republic are increasing, and new currency channels are opening, for example, with the opening of new routes to increase the number of tourists. Multinationals do not invest unless they are confident of a return on investment, which can only be achieved by stability and good social and working conditions.
