The former president Leonel Fernandez Yesterday he made a detailed analysis of some points in the speech of the President of the Republic Luis Abinader, in which he reaffirmed his position that the figures issued were manipulated.
At the outset, Fernández clarified that he would not respond to all the issues addressed by the president and focused on the issues of economic growth, inflation rate, the value of the basic family basket, foreign direct investment, infrastructure, the public ministry and its independence.
When talking about economic growth in response to President Abinader’s statements, Leonel Fernández explained what the real growth was since 2020, indicating that, according to the president, with statistical rebound, the growth for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 was 12.3%, 4.9%, and 2.4%, respectively, for an average of 6.5%. While, Fernández explains that without statistical rebound, it was 12.3%, 4.9%, and 2.4%, respectively, for an average of 6.5%. 4.7%, 4.9%, and 2.4% in the same years, resulting in an average of 4%, if the months of the year 2020 of the Government period 2020-2024 are not included.
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By including the months of the year 2020, which were omitted by President Abinader, we have two scenarios. The first one is the following: With statistical rebound: 2020, -4.3%; 2021, 12.3%; 2022, 4.9%; and 2023, 2.4%, which gives an average of 3.8% growth. The second scenario, without statistical rebound, is: 2020, -4.3%; 2021, 4.7%; 2022, 4.9%; and 2023, 2.4%, for a real average of 1.9%, both very far from the 6.5% that Abinader assured.
Regarding the forecasts of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the opposition leader said that “last year, the projections for 2023 were 5%. We ended up with a growth of 2.4% for January-December 2023, less than half of what was originally projected. It had to be revised downwards 7 times, establishing the largest gap or deviation of a projection with respect to actual growth in a normal year.”
The former President of the Republic explained that, last year alone, among the countries of Central America, the country was positioned as the economy with the worst performance (2.4%), with 4.5 percentage points below the first position (Panama = 6.9%).
On the topic of inflation, Fernández revealed that in 2020 the average inflation rate was 3.8%; in 2021: 8.2%; in 2022: 8.8%. For 35 consecutive months, from August 2020 to June 2023, inflation exceeded the upper limit of the 5% target, increasing 10 times its level in a 12-month period (May 2020: 1% – May 2021: 10.5%).
The average inflation between August 2020 and July 2024 was 6.3%, more than double that of the previous two four-year periods, which was 2.8% and 3%. “Likewise, at the end of 2023, official figures estimate that average inflation was 4.8%,” he explained.
When referring to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) The opposition leader assured that it went down, but prices continued to rise. “The family basket increased and has remained through the roof.” Between January 2021 and July 2024, the value of the family basket monitored by the Central Bank went from RD$37,293.53 to RD$45,494.64, which represents a 22% increase. For the poorest households, located in a vulnerable level, the increase exceeded the reported increase, reaching 24%. “Today, the Dominican people have less purchasing power, there is nothing to applaud.”
Regarding foreign direct investment, Leonel explained that FDI is practically stagnant.
According to official information from the Central Bank, Between January and June 2022 and 2024, flows increased from $2,032.5 million to $2,374 million.
