SANTIAGO. The Archbishopric of this city affirms that the country is going through difficult times, tempered by violence, inflation, insecurity and the increase in poverty.
In his editorial and Catholic weekly Camino, he states that Holy Week, which begins on Sunday, should be propitious for each Dominican to review his life on a personal and community level.
It indicates that the Dominican Republic is going through difficult times, nuanced by violence, inflation, insecurity and the increase in poverty.
Through the editorial of the weekly Camino, its written organ, entitled “Prudence and respect”, highlights that at the moment the winds of war are blowing “that make history go back to stages that we thought were overcome”, a situation that it says is used to satisfy whims and thirst for power.
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“Faced with this gloomy scenario, we have to be bearers of hope and peace, turn on a light, instead of cursing the darkness and flourish where we are planted,” he emphasizes.
He says he hopes that those of us who believe in the God of life “live these days to the full, participating in the different celebrations we have, and thus leave us strengthened to continue working for a more fraternal society.”
The general population is invited to take all necessary measures “to avoid traffic accidents and other unfortunate events that occur during this week, as a result of the debauchery in which a segment of the population falls.”
“That, in this Holy Week, and always, respect and prudence mark our conduct,” concludes the editorial of the Catholic weekly Camino.
Interior and Police
According to the Security Data Analysis Center of the Ministry of Interior and Police the homicide rate increased by 22% last year compared to 2020, going from 961 to 1,172 cases. The figures also exceed 2019, becoming the highest in the last four years.
According to statistics from Interior and Policein eight of the 12 months of 2021 the figure of 100 homicides was exceeded, which in 2020 only occurred in August.
By 2021, the National Statistics Office projected a population of 10,535.535 million inhabitants in the Dominican Republic.
This morning, the Interior and Police said in a statement that despite this situation, the Dominican Republic is the fifth country in the region with the lowest levels of homicides, achieving a rate of 11.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, which places it in a position well below the regional average of 20.4 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants.
ECLAC
On January 27, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published the report “Social Panorama of Latin America” in which it estimated that the rate of extreme poverty grew from 13.1% to 13.8% in in 2021, while moderate poverty decreased from 33% to 32.1%, reaching 201 million Latin Americans. Of this group, poverty in the Dominican Republic increased by 2% during the past year.
