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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2004Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryDominican strikeA 48-hour general strike paralyzed the Dominican Republic on Jan. 28-29. Organized by groups linked to the Marxist Left, but supported by the more established Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and even sections of the business community, the strikers called for a moratorium on payment of the national debt and the rescinding of new taxes on gasoline and other basic commodities. More generally, the strike targeted President Hipolito Mejia, who has presided over a deep economic crisis. The price of rice has doubled, as has the national debt, while inflation has cut the buying power of the masses by 50%. All of this was exacerbated by the collapse of Banco Intercontinental in April. The government, which had corrupt ties to this bank, decided to guarantee all deposits. Most of this $2.2 billion payout, two-thirds of the annual state budget, benefited some 80 very wealthy individuals. In addition, Mejia, although he calls himself a social democrat, supported the U.S. war in Iraq. Mejia has also allowed elements of the former Haitian military and death squads to establish bases from which to attack the former Aristide government. In January, as with an earlier general strike last November, the government responded with violence, killing at least eight people. Among the dead was Clemente Reynoso, the 24-year-old leader of New Alternative, a leftist party. Another leftist, Joselito Vasquez Castro, also 24, was also shot to death. A number of other leftist leaders were arrested. |
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