The Abinader Doctrine

Great idea for a thread. 

We will allow  a lot of latitude in discussion but keep it respectful.

The changes I've been reading about make me feel even better about moving to the country next month. It's hard to explain to some people how and why I'm willing to leave America after 55 years, the simple truth is, "I see one beautiful country moving forward and another beautiful country moving backwards". No creature comforts are worth "piece of mind" and a tranquil soul. Add in my beautiful wife and her 4 wonderful children and I knew where I belonged at this stage of my life.

Will I be allowed to vote when I become a permanent resident?

Very well spoken.  I just moved from Canada for similar reasons.  Great thread.  Looking forward to seeing the positive changes for this country and the people.

Having served in the Navy from 1985-2007, most of my travels have been in the Caribbean,Central and South America.  Seeing how Panama has changed first hand and the incredible growth since the 80's gives me great hope that good leadership will continue to secure the Dominican Republic firmly as the go to vacation destination in this part of the world. I look forward to the further development of eco-tourism in this beautiful nation. I haven't read of any major government initiatives yet but it will be a strong job growth and tourism industry.

And no permanent residency doesn't allow you to vote. Only citizenship gives you that right.

Here is another inherited weakness in PN to be fixed, in that vehicle thefts can only be reported and followed up in Santo Domingo and Santiago irrespective where the theft occurs:

Reports of vehicle theft can only be made in two places in the country

https://eldia.com.do/las-denuncias-por- … -del-pais/

In the country, complaints about car theft are only received in two places, which are in the Pilot Plan of Santo Domingo and in Santiago, which makes it difficult for people who lose their vehicle in any part of the territory, for having to move to the one that is closest to him.

This was expressed by the Minister of the Interior and Police, Jesús Vásquez, who regretted this situation and qualifies it as another weakness of the National Police because a citizen who has a car stolen in Pedernales or Punta Cana, has to go to the capital to be able to make the corresponding complaint.

To improve this situation, the minister announced that they are acquiring a technology so that through an application someone who steals a car has the facility to report it by placing the license plate number, the specifications of the same and the place where the event occurred, which It will allow the Police to be activated to follow up.

He mentioned that the trust for the transformation of the Police will have a lot to do with the transparency process because it will allow the acquisition of technology, equipment and all that is needed in the uniformed.

Vásquez Martínez reiterated that one of the great problems in the National Police is corruption, which qualifies as cancer.

“For the first time in history, a director of the Police says that he is going to confront and end corruption in that institution, it is a will of the President of the Republic, and he has assumed that message, and for us it is extremely important that that It is assumed from the National Police, because to transform this country, we are obliged to produce that process, it is the main challenge we have, and with the help of God and the support of the Dominican people we are going to achieve it ", explained the minister in the Lunch of the Corripio Communications Group.

Article from Listin Diario today which says much about what is needed to be done:

No more clutter for not enforcing the law

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … tar-la-ley

Imposing order in a country is something easy in a dictatorial regime where "discipline" enters through fear or the stick, but doing so in a democratic society requires a State that respects itself and enforces the laws without the need to run over citizens, but without consenting to the debauchery of those who break the established rules.

The tyranny of Rafael Trujillo dominated for 31 years almost all Dominicans and those of us who remember the last times before the satrap was killed by the same iron and the same arms that he used to kill, steal and rape, we cannot forget how this The country suffered its outrages, but enjoyed an enviable order.

With Trujillo dead and Trujillismo alive in some aspects, the Dominicans recovered and still survives, the worst of that dark and gloomy era: in his time, the Chief was the only one who dared to steal, to kill, to abuse ladies; now the thieves are a legion, the murderers a storm and the abusers an incalculable herd.

They killed Trujillo so that freedom and democracy could flourish. Freedom to be born, grow and reproduce as a gadfly is a great achievement, but ignorance, laziness, lambonism took away the space for self-improvement, a sense of duty compliance and the defense of citizen rights.

Today we have a country in which for decades the laws have been suggestions for those who want to comply with them and a resource at hand to punish at their discretion those who turn into an unbearable adversary.

Results

Due to this mundane “culture”, we not only have the roads and buildings without identification for the visitor who does not know where he is walking, the policemen lying down as witnesses that the legal provisions are not respected and are not enforced, but the authorities - of previous ones and this government- are experts in looking for a way down for those who disrespect the ordinance. If military and police authorities build a wall(sleeping policeman) in front of their detachment instead of placing a sign that regulates speed and the driver respects it, any owner of a private school, colmadón or a resident with a mansion does the same and nothing happens, why not there is a regime of consequence.

With the same naturalness that the roads become suburbs because it is impossible to enforce the law, the truckers take over all the lanes of avenues and highways, imposing their size and their destructive capacity against light vehicles, exhibiting an unmistakable pedegree: they drive a truck in the city or the highway as they did with the donkey from the country where they were born, then the motorcycle jumping sidewalks and going the wrong way, until it ascends to that terrible machine of loading and death that makes its way to bravado.

This is the only country where heavy vehicles can make use of all the lanes of a road, contrary to the traffic law, and the authorities do not dare to put them on the waist.

With good reason, this is, in turn, the second country in the world with the highest proportion of deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents, preferably affecting young people and that costs the government in hospital remediation much more than what it spends on Haitian women in labor. today they persecute and repatriate "with strict adherence to immigration law and respect for human rights."

A few years ago, when General Arturo Pujols was the director of the Transit Authority, he enforced the law and his agents detained more than one hundred trucks in one day for leaving the right lane to invade the left and central lanes, and to date Following a political decision by the past government ordered "to leave those people alone", especially if those heavy vehicles are not just drivers, but "jorocones", civilians and military.

From then on we have seen everything, even a truck perching on the pedestrian boulevard of Winston Churchill Avenue, which is just a sample of the impudence of people who know that they do not have to pay the price for their daring.

The disrespect for the law explains that dump truck drivers enter a coast, the Nizao or the Yuna river, remove the sand even invading other people's properties, travel hundreds of kilometers releasing material and water on the roads, without any authority asking them account, unless it is to enter into bribes and actively participate in the mockery of the law and the contempt for the defense of the environment.

For no one it can be strange to see lines of trucks loaded with their engines running in front of colmadones, where their drivers ingest brandy while blocking the road, and then hit the road and drive drunk, spreading danger and speed without limits.

Urinating on the roads

Who has not seen on the country's highways a brand new jeepeta, a car, truck or motorcycle stop anywhere on the road and its occupants place themselves to urinate in full view of all those who pass by as if they were in the bathroom in your house, where do you happen to close the door when you use them?

This is what car and minibus operators do at makeshift stops in city streets and avenues, fruit and fried food vendors, street vendors or street vendors, turning the common space into a large toilet, without anyone remembering the last time one of them was arrested or brought to justice for public and modest immorality.

Because few consider that it is necessary to respect others and observe compliance with the laws is that the streets, highways, river deltas, beaches, public and private properties, parks, squares, hospitals and even cemeteries, are used to throw garbage from all kinds, no one seems to care anymore to put a cut to the mess.

If this country deserved to get rid of Trujillo, his internal subordinates and his old imperial partners killed him, ended up in time becoming owners of the heritage that he usurped and ended the formal educational system, the rules of urbanity, public health, the promotion of agriculture, quality control and other attributes that a few miss, without having to wish the dictatorship to return.

We need freedom, democracy, participation, but that will not be possible with a people alienated by the lack of education and social and patriotic commitment, filling daily life with indecent practices and disrespecting the most elementary norms of coexistence among human beings.

Unless the current authorities consider that caudillismo, caciquismo, the buying of loyalties and political advantage paid with the public patrimony prosper better in the kingdom of chaos, they are in the duty to take initiatives to put a stop to this collective disorder and send a signal that there is an opportunity to live decently in a democracy, because otherwise, thousands will think that even a dictatorship is acceptable if it is the price that must be paid to regain decency, respect and order.

Government begins reconstruction of the Barahona-Enriquillo highway with an investment of RD $ 1,500 million

https://eldia.com.do/gobierno-inicia-re … nriquillo/

President Luis Abinader assured this Sunday that what the Government is doing in terms of construction and road infrastructure in the South is revolutionary.

The president spoke when resuming the reconstruction work on the Barahona-Enriquillo highway, with an initial budget of about 1,500 million pesos, benefiting more than 100,000 people.

Accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Deligne Ascención, the president gave the first deadline for the start of work on the work, demanded by residents for years.

At the event, President Abinader announced the Intervention of the painting crossing, one of the most difficult interceptions in terms of traffic and that directly affects the exit to the South on the November 6 highway.

He also reported that the Baní bypass will be ready by the end of next year and that of Azua by the third quarter of next year.

«This government does nothing without planning. We plan everything to have a more efficient government every day, "said Abinader.

He recalled that two weeks ago he announced in Higüey that a trauma center will be built at the Taiwan Hospital in Azua and later, as budgets allow, other centers will be built further to the South.

The president said that with all these actions he seeks to have better security, communication and go hand in hand with the tourism development that is promoted for Pedernales

The head of state announced that by 2022 an unprecedented investment will be made in water and sanitary sewers throughout the country.

He also said that the possibility of creating viewpoints-paradores on the way to Barahona-Enriquillo is being studied, so that on the way to Pedernales the view of the road can be appreciated, which also adds to the economic effect with the installation of shops .

He urged those present to look to the near and distant future with optimism, not because there are no problems, but because they have a government that is willing to face each one of them.

"We are willing to work together to achieve economic and social progress, better quality of life and a very special objective in public policies in recent years: the happiness of its citizens," said President Abinader.

He also promised to finish a municipal clinic in Paraíso, started in the government of Hipólito Mejía.

Activation of interprovincial trade

For his part, the Minister of Public Works stressed that this important highway will activate interprovincial trade in Barahona, Bahoruco and Pedernales and allow agricultural products from the entire region to be transported more quickly and safely to large urban centers.

In addition, he pointed out, it will be an indispensable instrument for the tourist development of all this long and beautiful coastline of 124 kilometers that connects Barahona with Pedernales.

Ascención explained that in the specific case of the highway, it is being carried out with the purpose of rebuilding a deteriorated section, with an irregular and dangerous route, which will be converted into about 17 kilometers of modern highway.

It will have two lanes of 3.65 meters each, a 4-meter retaining wall, protective structures built with gabions that will prevent landslides and sea erosion.

Ascención explained that the work involves an important road variant upon arrival in the municipality of Enriquillo to solve a critical point, through a drainage system with tubular culverts, a concrete system and a stone-faced gutter.

In addition, he said, the removal of the existing asphalt, stabilization of the base with cement, primer and total resurfacing, the required horizontal and vertical signaling, the placement of a safety railing, as well as the construction of two bridges over the La Boca rivers will be carried out. of Maniel and San Rafael.

The restoration contract for this highway includes the construction of sidewalks and reservoirs and the paving of the streets of the municipalities and towns around their surroundings, the improvement of the streets of the Juan Esteban town, the streets of the municipality of Enriquillo and the sidewalks, Containers and paved roads in the small towns of La Ciénaga, Los Patos, Los Blancos and Caletón.

Ascención specified that this work was paralyzed due to legal difficulties at the beginning of our management, which prevented even the payment of the corresponding measurements, due to the lack of foresight and lack of planning with which it was started in the previous administration.

“However, since the arrival of this government, we have assumed the commitment to finish the work. This purpose entailed a year of arduous information gathering work, review of previous measurements and inspection of previously performed tasks; preparation of technical studies; redesigns of construction plans; of the execution schedules, as well as the restructuring of the work completion budget, "he said.

Meanwhile, the governor of Barahona, Dionis Maribel González Medrano, said that the Dominican people value the work of government that President Abinader carries out with effort and determination.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Barahona, Mictor Emilio Fernández, said that with works like these it is shown that now the time of the south has truly arrived and it has not remained in words as in the past.

Representing the community, Ana Bartola Acosta spoke, who expressed her gratitude for the construction of the road that she considered will be of great benefit to all the residents of the province.

The blessing of the act was in charge of the Reverend Father Marco Antonio Pérez, rector of the Universidad Católica Tecnológica de Barahona, (UCATEBA).

The event was attended by the director of the Economic Canteens, Edgar Feliz; the Vice Minister of Public Works, José del Carmen Montero; the mayors of Enriquillo; Heriberto Méndez y de Paraíso, Francisco -Panchin- Acosta; the president of IDC Construcción, SRL, Rafael Jáquez and the president of Radio Companies, Roberto Lama.

After years of dithering, this is fantastic news for the south west. The area really is an exception to what one sees in the rest of DR but the access was not so good and with both the Bani and Azua by-passes open late next year and now the improvement of this often stunningly beautiful coast road plus some work to beaches, it will be a must visit location.

and he has 7 (7-count'em-7) court cases going on corruption, money laundering, etc

On that note - the next election the other parties will do everything and anything to regain power!

gmccargin wrote:

Will I be allowed to vote when I become a permanent resident?

No, you need to become a naturalized citizen to be able to vote.   I did that recently and should have done it as soon as it was possible.

Abinader: "When we came to the government we did so based on a vision of development"

https://eldia.com.do/abinader-cuando-ll … esarrollo/

President Luis Abinader highlighted this Wednesday that when he came to power he did so based on a vision of development, which "denied the way of doing the politics of previous years", and that the first change he established was the to ensure a "neat" use of public resources , "that can only be achieved if everyone does their job and we have a system that ensures what is planned."

“When we came to the government, we did so based on a vision of development that denied the way of doing politics in previous years, a true vision of change that puts people at the center of public policies, which is the same as in the center of the work of our institutions, "said the Head of State during the presentation of the National Multi-year Plan of the Public Sector.

Abinader asked the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPYD) to take charge of giving a closer and more systematic follow-up to the execution of government priorities as of next year.

«Change and development must be planned, it must also be reflected in the budget and we will achieve this only if we imagine it, if we plan it and if we work together for them, that is why the new planning cannot be as before, we are obliged to change from the moment we conceive our development plan. The vision changed and therefore the planning and the budget must also change ”, said the president.

Opportunities for people

For his part, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Miguel Ceara Hatton, spoke about the importance of planning and raised the need to focus actions on people, creating opportunities where people reside and that development should be a question of law.

Ceara Hatton explained that the Multi-Year Plan has three objectives: to generate jobs, quality public service and transform the institutions so that the citizen has security.

Likewise, the Vice Minister of Planning and Public Investment of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Pavel Isa Contreras, presented a summary of the articulation and planning commitments.

Isa Contreras stressed that planning is essential so that the efforts of policies, programs, initiatives and projects contribute to achieving the central objective of improving people's lives are effective and begin to make a difference

"In this year 2021, the Government managed to complete two significant planning products: a National Multi-year Plan for the State in general and 106 multi-year institutional plans," he highlighted.

In the activity, the results of the planning process developed during 2021 were presented, together with the different institutions of the Dominican Government.

In addition, the National Multiannual Public Sector Plan (PNPSP) 2021-2024 was shared, approved by the Council of Ministers and the tools designed for the articulation, follow-up, monitoring and evaluation of the public policies to be implemented were made known.

The documents presented are the result of the effort promoted by the current Government to have coordinated public planning, to ensure an efficient use of resources and have a more significant impact on the quality of life of the people.

The plan was structured taking as a starting point the Government of Change Program and identifies as its central objective improving the quality of life of the people. These policies are aligned with the National Development Strategy (END) and with the prioritized goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The questionable deal struck for financing the Juan Pablo 2 Autopista to Samana has been renegotiated and it will lead to lower tolls and less future debt to the government. Another positive for President Abinader.

Government puts an end to the "infamous" shadow toll and will save US $ 1,500 million
From January 1, 2022, the cost of this rate will decrease by 20% from Las Américas to Samaná

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … DH30400614

The Dominican Government managed to get rid of a burden, after reaching, after months of analysis, an "amicable agreement" to end the concession contract for the Northeast Highway (Juan Pablo II), for which more has been paid of RD $ 26,835 million and was pending to pay another US $ 1,900 million until its completion.

For the news of this magnitude, President Luis Abinader gave a speech last night in which he spoke of one of the goals that he set when he became President: to reverse in the best possible way the "infamous" shadow toll, which will mean savings approximate US $ 1,500 million.

The president, who had received three proposals from the commissioning company, indicated that the State will pay US $ 410 million for the consummation of the agreement. "That amount is approximately what would have to be paid for shadow tolls in the next four years and four months, not counting what the tolls would generate once they have been transferred to the RD Vial state trust."

"We have paid for the bad agreement that others made, but we have managed, negotiated and executed a solution that allows us to free ourselves from a heavy and disproportionate burden, which will allow us to address other infrastructure priorities vital to the economic development of our country" , said the president during the speech.........

Eliminate "bottles" that charged more than RD $ 1,000 million a year

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … HJ30397176

More than four months after the implementation of the process of payment with checks to public employees, the authorities have detected that 5,119 people were paid without working, which could have cost the treasury up to RD $ 1 billion per year.

The National Treasury reported that 5,119 checks returned intact to their source, which represented a saving of more than 86 million pesos per month for the State, an amount that, if projected for one year, would be equivalent to more than 1,000 million pesos.

Diario Libre requested during the last weeks updated data on the reimbursement of checks by institution, however, there were delays in the delivery of the required information, which was finally provided to various media.

Good news about the "shadow toll" contract. This has been very costly to the Dominican people. Good riddance.

This is good,  and now who will maintain that road?   There are many moving parts to this deal I am sure!

Same people will maintain it...

This is HUGE progress between the road & the botellas.... BIG$$$$

https://twitter.com/luisabinader/status … elebrar%2F

Refreshing to see a President so positive in a Christmas message in these tough times.

Precedent: Abinader wears military clothing and brand new precedent

https://noticiassin.com/pais/abinader-s … te-1211430

Elías Piña.- Despite the fact that President Luis Abinader exercises his authority over the Armed Forces and the National Police, the president stripped himself of that authority and dressed in military clothing, which set a precedent in the country's presidential history after the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo.

Said gesture by the head of state occurred yesterday during his visit to the Estrelleta Fortress, where he was received by the Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, and the Army General Commander, Major General Julio Ernesto Florián Pérez, who handed him a jacket and a cap of the institution.

Multiple banks will adopt measures to prevent contagion of covid-19
Multiple banks will adopt measures to prevent contagion of covid-19
Later, Abinader had lunch with troops from the National Army, in which he highlighted the role of the Armed Forces in the defense and security of the country.

“While the whole country rests, the members of the Armed Forces take care of our Republic; while some have a happy dinner and sleep peacefully, the soldiers far from homes are in charge of ensuring that tranquility ”, said the ruler.

On behalf of the country, the president said, they are recognized, supported, and a lot of admiration and gratitude are felt for all of them.

Interesting....

Executive Branch ratifies measures to rationalize public spending

https://eldia.com.do/poder-ejecutivo-ra … o-publico/

The Executive Power issued Decree 3-22, which ratifies a large part of the measures for the rationalization of public spending of Decree 396-21.

During the year 2022, until January 1, 2023, the purchase of motor vehicles in the Central Government is prohibited, except for specific exceptions, and it is reiterated that any request for exoneration or exemption that is not based on a law will be denied.

Likewise, the use of official vehicles is prohibited on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, unless expressly and previously authorized by the owner of the corresponding institution for the strict execution of tasks related to their responsibilities.

Purchases of tickets for official trips abroad that do not have prior authorization issued by the Administrative Minister of the Presidency are also prohibited, with the exception of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism, who must render a periodic report in this regard; The use of flankers is restricted for certain officials because of their responsibilities, and unauthorized spending for parties, gift giving, and other similar activities is prohibited.

So far so good.....
Re Abinader: Assures that he is the most ethical President in recent years

https://hoy.com.do/asegura-abinader-es- … imos-anos/

A leader of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) of this province, assured yesterday that the political-electoral history had not registered a President of the high ethical and moral level such as the current president Luis Abinader.

According to the engineer Carlos Henríquez, at this time, where the proliferation of anti-values ​​is observed, not only in this country, but in all the countries of the world, the current president is an example to be followed by the various sectors of this country.

In this sense, Henríquez stated that President Luis Abinader is a reference that the entire Dominican society should try to imitate for his good deeds in favor of each Dominican, regardless of his political party, since he is a person, who When making decisions, he does so with the good of the nation in mind.

He specified that if we Dominicans study the political history of recent years, especially that of the recent past, they would realize that more than 70% of those who have held power in this country have been accused of crushing their hands and their honors. with acts of corruption, where as an example we can cite the past government presided over by former President Danilo Medina, where more than a hundred of his closest collaborators and relatives are being singled out by the Public Ministry, and accused of committing acts at odds with the law.

However, he stated that above all those scandals that have been arising, there is Abinader, who at this time has become a fierce ethical reference and with irreproachable morals, which according to him, Dominicans and the political class must take as an example.

“It is so much so, that in this government, all those who have been singled out by public opinion and the press, such as the cases of the investigations carried out by renowned investigative journalists Nuria Piera and Alicia Ortega, whose complaints have been brought to their attention. paid due attention and the President has proceeded with elegance and has dismissed different officials of his own government, yes, when justifications have been found, they have been immediately separated from the government train”, he said.

He said that what has been happening with some officials who have been dismissed had not been seen so quickly, which at the time has been applauded by the bulk of the Dominican population, as well as by those sectors, which even, according to this, they oppose the president in political terms.

According to Carlos Henríquez, this is a sample of what he says in relation to the ethical behavior of the president, is that in the current administration his relatives do not occupy positions of importance in the government, where the president has also said on several occasions that he will not allow his relatives, such as his brothers, to do any type of business with the State.