Santo Domingo.- The deputy of the People’s Force (FP) for the National District, Tobias Crespowarned the Government that it will defend the around six thousand families who live from day to day in the New Market on Duarte Avenuebefore the implementation of the FIMERCA-SD Trust.
Crespo stated that he seeks to privatize this important economic lung of the capital, as well as the markets. Model, Honduras, Christ the King and the Livestock Fair of the National District.
“Today, while we were taking a tour of this market to find out the prices of the food products that Dominicans mostly consume at their Christmas Dinner, in addition to being surprised by the high costs they have experienced, we found the merchants up in arms, protesting the trust that the Government intends to implement. We want to take the opportunity to publicly affirm that, from now on, we are also joining this cause,” he pointed out.
Thousands of families are dependent on the market
In addition to the approximately 6,000 families who depend directly on the market between informal workers (“tiraitos”) and vendors, would also be affected 1,260 merchants with contracts from the City Council and the 30,000 people who visit the place daily.
Crespo pointed out that, through Public Trust for the Modernization of the Food Markets of Santo Domingo (FIMERCA-SD)the Government is trying to privatize these spaces, to the detriment of thousands of families who since 1973 They have supported their homes with the work done in that market.
“This trust was approved this yearunfortunately with the majority vote of the deputies of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) of the National District, and was made up of the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, and the Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz,” he explained.
The commercial leaders of the New Market, Tomas Garcia and Antonio Then Grullónalso criticized the intentions to privatize these facilities, which for more than half a century have served as a source of livelihood for thousands of families.
The congressman indicated that Nelson David Camilo Velásquez is the executive director of the FIMERCA-SD Trust, and was previously an official of the Presidential Office of Information and Communication Technology (OPTIC) and of the Unit for the Readaptation of Neighborhoods and Environments (URBE)attached to the Ministry of the Presidency.
Crespo blamed the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Palizaof any situation that may occur in the Mercado Nuevo on Duarte Avenue, warning that the thousands of families who work there “will not sit idly by” and will arrive “to the last consequences”, since the authorities assured that they are putting the livelihood of their homes at risk.
The deputy of the National District alerted the authorities that, in addition to the merchants, they will face “parents, housewives and all the poor and working masses who live and survive day by day in the market.”
“Let the Minister of the Presidency and the other officials of the PRM Government listen carefully: this market does not belong to any politician, businessman or private sector; it is the property of the Dominican people,” he pointed out.
He Decree No. 357-24 created the FIMERCA-SD Public Trust, which establishes that the movable and immovable assets of the Mayor of the National Districtand subsequently the remaining markets of the Santo Domingo province, will become managed by the Reserve Bank Trust for a period of 30 years.
The contract was signed on September 27, 2024 by the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, through special power granted by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader Coronaand for Andes Vander Horst Alvarezexecutive vice president and fiduciary manager of the FIMERCA-SD Trust.
