SANTO DOMINGO ECONOMIC-POLITICAL ROUNDUP, MARCH

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000402

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR, LA PAZ FOR A/DCM C LAMBERT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ENRG PGOV PHUM HA DR
SUBJECT: SANTO DOMINGO ECONOMIC-POLITICAL ROUNDUP, MARCH
31, 2009

(SBU) In this edition of the roundup:


1. Chevron Settles Dispute with Union Drivers

2. First Arrests Made Under 2007 Electricity Theft Law

3. GoDR Energy Officials Receptive to Proposed Regional
Partnership

4. Government Caught in Orwellian Incident

5. Think Tank Event Publicizes Dominican-Haitian Cooperation


1. (SBU) Chevron Settles Dispute with Union Drivers

On March 26, Chevron signed an agreement with the drivers'
union that blockaded its operation in June 2008 in protest to
a change in the fuel delivery contract which led to the loss
of their jobs. As part of the agreement, Chevron provided
compensation to 38 drivers and the drivers promised not to
blockade Chevron in the future. Chevron's Manager for
Caribbean Global Downstream, Hector Infante, told the Charge
that the union approached the company in January to request a
settlement after the company's original offer had expired at
the end of 2008. Infante said that the drivers' union was
having trouble with the truck owners, who were holding out
for a contract extension, and decided to seek a separate
settlement. Infante confirmed that Chevron has been
operating successfully under the new fuel delivery contract,
but that it was still waiting for operating permits for four
new trucks even though they had been approved two years ago.
He said Chevron told the GODR the settlement could not be
finalized until the licenses had been issued.


2. (SBU) First Arrests Made Under 2007 Electricity Theft Law

Two individuals were arrested for electricity theft on March
19, one month after the Superintendent of Electricity
announced that the 2007 law criminalizing this theft had gone
into effect. The arrests, the first to invoke the new law,
occurred when the pair was caught in the act of making an
illegal connection to benefit a small hotel in Santo Domingo.
The arrests garnered substantial press attention, including
an editorial in the El Caribe newspaper that called them "a
healthy and responsible carriage of justice." The fact that
police caught the thieves in the act makes the case less of a
test of the new law, however. This precedent will be
established only when illicit electricity consumers are
detected and subjected to justice. The general manager of
the electricity distribution company Ede Este told ECONOFF
that he has submitted the names of five large-scale thieves
to the Superintendent for what he hopes will represent a
high-profile crackdown on the illicit activity.


3. (U) GoDR Energy Officials Receptive to Proposed Regional
Partnership

During a visit to the DR on March 18-19, Samuel Browne from
the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S.
Department of Energy met with key players in the energy
sector from the GoDR and private companies. Among other
topics, he discussed USG plans to introduce an Energy
Partnership in the Americas, along the lines of a speech that
President Obama made during the 2008 presidential campaign.
The public sector officials were receptive to the
partnership, noting that better regional coordination in
energy matters could help energy importers like the Dominican
Republic develop its nascent renewable energy industry and
better absorb the impacts of volatile energy prices. Browne
invited the GoDR policymakers to provide input on developing
the architecture of the partnership, but the officials'
response was limited to seeking assistance for their
agencies' pet projects.


4. (SBU) Government Caught in Orwellian Incident

In his March 26 column in "Clave Digital," former Ambassador
to the U.S. Bernardo Vega reported on the Government's
unusual efforts to promote foreign investment. Vega
described an incident in which the Government bought space in


a magazine and then touted the advertisement as if it were an
unbiased news article: "Since the times of the dictator
Trujillo nothing like it has occurred. Our government
announced with great fanfare that the February 22 New York
Times Magazine had said marvelous things about the economic
situation in our country. Later, the Minister of Industry
bought a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper to tout
the great success. What had happened is that, with
taxpayers' funds, the government had purchased an
announcement in the magazine. Why does the government try to
fool the Dominican people? They should be ashamed of
themselves."


5. (U) Think Tank Event Publicizes Dominican-Haitian
Cooperation

A recent event held at Fundacion Global Democracia y
Desarollo (FUNGLODE),a think tank founded by President
Fernandez, highlighted activities organized by NGOs that are
helping the Dominican and Haitian people engage each other
and pursue common goals. At the forum, attended by CONOFF,
Panelists described the "First Dominican-Haitian Youth
Encounter," in which 124 participants exchanged ideas on the
evolution of their societies. A "Special Dominican-Haitian
Task Force on the Millennium Development Goals and Youth"
brought 20 people together to examine the development goals
and joint strategies to attain them. Finally, participants
in the FUNGLODE event noted that two additional events are
planned for April and May, the "Dominican-Haitian Diaspora
Youth Forum" and the "Haitian Model UN Conference."

(U) Please visit us at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/
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