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Dominican Republic in Danger of Dictatorship

By: Donald Harrison, Sat Sep 23rd, 2006



This is exactly what was written in the Hoy Newspaper on July 22, 2005...The Dominican Republic is in danger of Dictatorship!

As an American on vacation looking for a retirement spot …I BELIEVE EVERY WORD of It.

I suspect that their Zona Franca has to be suffering terribly as well as tourism with the extremely high prices and unrealistic exchange rate of 28 to 1. The actual value in my opinion should be 100 pesos to 1 dollar. This false value of the exchange rate has to boiling over with a readiness to explode at any minute. With the previous administration there was money in circulation… Dollars and pesos. Now there is just the stare of hunger in the streets. I see skinny poor pregnant ladies walking around in the barrios. It just kills me to see the poverty.

Their wealthy class rides around in great big brand new sport utility vehicles going to their homes in big mansions with mud roads out front of their houses with deep holes in the roads. This boggles my imagination. For 100 bucks per person in each neighborhood they could fix their own streets at least.

Their worthless peso has been revalued apparently to allow the government access to cheap dollars. Prices reflect about 10 cents on the dollar. You trade a dollar at 28 or 29 you purchase goods at 100 pesos to the dollar.

I met one retired Millionaire at the airport and I ask him why he was leaving. He told me that he CAN NOT AFFORD TO LIVE THERE ANY MORE!

Forget retiring in the Dominican Republic until some drastic changes occur. Right now the country is glued together with International Monetary Fund Money which appears to be further destroying the country leaving a starving population. Food is the issue in this country not worthless pesos or dictatorship. I predict heavy striking violence and death.

Needless to say I am out of here!!!! Just a traveling soon to be retired school teacher. Got my eyes set on Argentina where their government had the good sense to devalue and lower prices. This DR President Leonel needs to catch a plane back to New York.

About the author: I am a school teacher traveling the world looking for the perfect retirement spot.