Santo Domingo, Aug 16 (EFE).- Dominican President Luis Abinader took office on Friday for his second and final term with the promise of a series of reforms, including a constitutional and fiscal one, in a speech where he praised the recovery of the economy during his previous administration, marked by the situation imposed by the pandemic.
In a decorated National Theater, where the inauguration ceremony was moved from the National Congress (bicameral) due to space constraints, Abinader, an economist by profession, was sworn in alongside the vice president, the academic and business administrator, Raquel Peña, who is also repeating in the position.
Constitutional reform and tax reform
In his speech, the head of state, whose Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) will control the majority of the National Congress as of this Friday, announced that on Monday he will submit to the Legislative Branch the draft constitutional reform with which he seeks “the protection that makes it impossible for any ruler, now or in the future, to remain in power for longer than the two terms that our Constitution currently provides for.”
“Indefinite re-election has been a cause of political instability that has affected democracy and development, not only in our country, but throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world,” he said at the ceremony, which was attended by a dozen heads of state and/or government.
Among the guests were the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and the presidents of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo; of Panama, José Raúl Mulino; of Paraguay, Santiago Peña; of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou; of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, as well as the vice president of El Salvador, Félix Ulloa.
Constitutional reform, which is one of the objectives that the president has set for his second term in power (2024-2028), will be the first measure he will propose, since “it is necessary to guarantee political, economic and social stability to achieve full development,” he said.
Abinader, who in his speech also referred to the “very serious” crisis in Venezuela following the publication of the questioned results of the July 28 elections.
At the event, which was attended by music stars such as Puerto Rican salsa singer Marc Anthony, accompanied by his wife, Nadia Ferreira, the president also announced, although without specifying an exact date, that he will promote a tax reform, postponed for years despite the demands of economic sectors and organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The project will focus on three basic objectives: guaranteeing healthy public finances, reducing debt and securing resources to improve health and security services, as well as “fundamental infrastructure for our development,” Abinader said.
This will include a reform of public spending and a tax reform, which, according to the head of State, will guarantee the mobilization of the resources required “for the transformation of our country and to be able to materialize such important projects” as, for example, the cable car and tram in Santo Domingo and the monorail in Santiago (north, the second city in the country).
Economic growth as an objective
The president also announced a reform to the Social Security and Labor Laws that, among other things, will facilitate the creation of more quality jobs and will include the recognition of the rights of domestic workers, as well as teleworking as one of the realities of the new economy.
Regarding economic growth, Abinader presented the figures recorded between 2021 and 2023, in which there was an average annual increase of 6.5% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), “well above the regional average”, while the forecasts of organizations such as the IMF “place our growth for this year at 5.4%, much higher than the 1.9% projected for this 2024 in the region,” he stressed.
Regarding the goals for this second period, he stated that the Dominican Republic “has the optimal conditions and the necessary reform agenda to be able to double its economy in the next twelve years,” which will mean accelerating the average annual GDP growth to 6%, and this requires “a set of important transformations that we are determined to carry out.”
Among his main objectives he also mentioned the “transformation” of the Police, one of the most questioned institutions in the country, where, according to Abinader, the homicide rate went from 13.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022 to 9.9 at present.
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2024-08-19 01:05:26
