The government of Luis Abinader and the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) takes the route of entering the middle of the administration, a stage in which the pressure increases so that it goes from words to deeds, the opponents become more critical, activates the political-electoral agenda and the social truce to the new administrations, is exhausted.
An example of this reality was the criticism of the bishop of Higüey, Monsignor Castro Marte, in the homily last Friday for the Day of Altagracia in the presence of the vice president, Raquel Peña.
“We must recognize that there are many challenges that we have as a country, with the day-to-day burden on the shoulders of families, of Dominicans, especially the poorest, the increase in the price of basic necessities becomes very heavy and the rise in fuels, add to this situation the covid-19. Eating, housing, are fundamental. You have to be careful with the people,” he said.
The pressure on the PRM could increase so that it fulfills the promise to approve the decriminalization of abortion in three circumstances that it did in opposition and has not materialized. 2022 is particularly challenging for the Abinader government, which since it arrived has had to deal with the health crisis generated by the covid-19 pandemic, the economic impact and inflation.
Last year inflation closed with 8.5%, the highest in the last 15 years, which forced the Central Bank to take measures with monetary policy.
Additionally, the official party has an internal political agenda for the renewal of authorities, an issue that began to generate noise due to the change in the statutes to elect national authorities, which distracts the government party to a lesser or greater extent.
Likewise, although President Abinader has said that he is not up for re-election, the facts have placed the issue on the public opinion agenda, and that factor also impacts the government’s handling of this year’s challenges.
The opposition has made itself felt with the issue of the prices of the basic basket products and the Trust for the administration of the Punta Catalina plant that was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and has generated a sea of criticism to the point that the President Abinader has had to assume his defense.
The Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) has requested that the initiative be withdrawn despite the fact that it was approved in the Chamber of Deputies, the People’s Force (FP) requested that it be submitted to public hearings in the Senate.
Therefore, the fate of the Punta Catalina Trust contract will be the subject of debate in the Upper House and the votes of the PLD and the FP are enough to stop it. If they vote for the piece, their opposition role will be called into question because they would be accused of saying one thing and doing another.
The vision of social actors
The sociologist Cándido Mercedes considered that the government does not seem entirely clear about the challenges that this year represents and that the situation could reach a point of “breaking the negative social peace” that, he affirms, exists in the country. He warns that inflation could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. “The second year no longer generates expectations, but the Dominican society is demanding part of the government program and that the actors in power promised the citizenry, the government has had excellent points such as handling the pandemic and the recovery of the economy,” said Mercedes.
The government has global and local challenges
Mercedes warned that the recovery of the economy has not been accompanied by a reduction in unemployment. He argued that labor informality went from 52% before the pandemic to 58.8% today. He observed that poverty increased from 21.5% to 44%. “The Dominican Republic has negative social peace, negative social peace is one in which there is an apparent social peace because the conflicts have not been resolved, where there is positive social peace, the conflicts have been resolved,” he stressed. He added that this reality could explode at any moment because society is much more empowered and less tolerant of the inefficiency of responding to its demands. “That is there and it is a much more empowered society, that is the great challenge we have, I do not see that the governing sectors are looking at it because human behavior is unpredictable and the fact that you have always been like this does not imply that the social unrest that exists can generate large social movements, social unrest that can lead to a social explosion, that is there, “he warned. He said that a social breeding ground is inflation and that although it is global, most people do not understand it that way.
