When people are asked on the streets what they think about the government, one is struck by the angry manner in which many of the responses are given. Most complain about the economic situation, the arrogance of officials, the prevailing social indifference and the high levels of corruption that almost everyone understands exists in high levels of the administration.
This latter perception has gained substance despite recent reports from international organisations that have given the Government better ratings than previous ones in terms of controls against this terrible social scourge that corrodes almost the entire structure of the state apparatus.
It is not at all unusual, however, to hear such opinions, since since the surveys began to reflect these feelings of the population, they stopped being published and the media that did so lost all interest in the subject.
There is no doubt that popular opinion of the government does not favor it. This second administration of President Luis Abinader has just begun and due to complaints regarding many of the public services, the rise in the cost of living and complaints about the climate of insecurity, there is no hope of changes in that public perception. There is not a day when newspapers and other media do not report street protests, many of them violent, due to unfulfilled promises or official omissions, a situation that contrasts with the pomp and expense of the current administration.
The next elections will be in May 2028. The long road to that date leaves ample room for the Government to alleviate the situation. The concern is related to the sense of official priorities, more committed to reforms that encompass the Constitution and the fiscal and tax system, which apparently occupy all their attention.
