Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04SANTODOMINGO2524
2004-04-26 12:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN ELECTION #39: CANDIDATES SKETCH PLATFORMS

Tags:  PGOV ECON EFIN ENRG KCOR DR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 002524 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, INR; NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON EFIN ENRG KCOR DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTION #39: CANDIDATES SKETCH PLATFORMS


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 002524

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, INR; NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON EFIN ENRG KCOR DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTION #39: CANDIDATES SKETCH PLATFORMS



1. (SBU) This is no. 39 in our series on the Dominican
presidential election:

Candidates Sketch Platforms

So far only Leonel Fernandez's PLD has published a platform
for the May 16 presidential elections. Newspapers of April
26 indicate that Mejia's PRD will release a document in the
next few days; Mejia promises that it will be readable, "not
some 1500 page document" (the PLD platform consists, in fact,
of 150 pages). The closest thing to a general declaration
made by the PRSC's Eduardo Estrella is the speech he
delivered on April 14 to the American Chamber of Commerce in
Santo Domingo.

That day presidential candidates Mejia and Estrella both
addressed anti-corruption themes.

Mejia at FINJUS

At the last of 3 events sponsored by U.S.-supported NGO
Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)
USAID director Elena Brinema introduced Mejia and
acknowledged government advances over the past two years in
implementing a transparent, results-oriented budget with an
integrated administrative and financial system and reducing
presidential discretion in spending.

Mejia acknowledged the difficulty of combating "traditional"
corruption in the Dominican Republic, owing to ineffective
laws and judicial laxness. He used the occasion to slam rival
Fernandez as "tax evader" unable to explain the origins of
his own fortune. Unlike the Fernandez government, Mejia
said, his administration confronted these problems head on,
by passing various laws and establishing decrees and
administrative standards to battle the problem. He had
created an advisory commission to fight corruption and an
ethics code for public service. Mejia reaffirmed his respect
for the separation of powers and the requirement not to
influence or criticize judicial decisions. He declared
himself scandalized at Fernandez's "nerve" in coming to
address FINJUS on the topic of corruption and asserted that

Fernandez had repeatedly fired officials who wanted to attack
corruption. Mejia cited Administrative Subsecretary Miguel
Solano and prosecutor Guillermo Moreno.

Estrella Sketches a Platform at the AmCham

Before an American Chamber of Commerce audience the PRSC,s
Eduardo Estrella advocated changing economic and other
policies of the two previous administrations. "Dominicans
should be able to trust their government and aspire to
success, not languish in desperation."

Estrella said that if elected he would deal with corruption
and bank fraud by reversing what he characterized as a lack
of transparency and honesty by authorities over the past
eight years. He would do so by:

---Not interfering in the prosecution or investigation of any
allegations of fraud;

---Involving all citizens in the fight against corruption;

---Designing and launching a "Probity Commission" of civil
society and professional groups to monitor the performance of
government agencies;

---Establishing a "real" Comptroller General to audit the
private assets of government officials and compare these with
the officials' required annual declarations of assets; and

---Legislating a presumption of guilt of wrongdoing by
officials who manage public accounts, who would be obliged to
prove their innocence.
On economic problems, Estrella saw a need to deter peso
devaluation and to place ceilings on internal and external
debt. He favored speeding up signing and implementation of
the U.S.-Dominican free trade agreement during the
post-election transition (before Aug. 16) and urged
negotiation of a similar trade agreement with the European
Union.

Among other measures, Estrella advocated:

---Fiscal Reform. He slammed the current policy of
increasing taxes. He called for a fiscal responsibility law
similar to those in Brazil and Peru, reducing executive
discretion in spending and prescribing criminal penalties for
violators.

---Austerity. Estrella promised to reduce waste by
restricting official travel abroad, use of cellular phones,
purchase of SUVs and luxury vehicles, and electricity
consumption.

---Foreign Investment: He proposed offering tax incentives
to Dominicans living overseas to return to the country and
establish businesses.

---Energy. On the premise that energy sector privatization
had been poorly executed, Estrella proposed that generation
companies also take over distribution and billing.

---External Debt: He proposed renegotiating to obtain terms
similar to those of the early 1990s, which allowed a
reduction in principal payments and interest with grace
periods lasting for almost 10 years.

Estrella's full presentation is available on the Santo
Domingo SIPRNET site.


2. (U) Drafted by Leticia Cantu.


3. (U) This report and others in this series can be read on
the SIPRNET at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ index.cfm along
with extensive current material.
HERTELL