Tourists enjoy a beach in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 7, 2022. (Erika Santelices/AFP via Getty Images)
Editor's Note:
Geovanny Vicente Romero is a lawyer and political scientist with experience as a professor and advisor on Public Policy and Governance.
He is a political strategist and Government Communications consultant.
He studied for a master's degree in Political Communication and Governance at George Washington University.
He is founder of the Center for Public Policies, Development and Leadership RD (CPDL-RD).
The ideas expressed in this article belong to the author.
Read more stories like this at cnne.com/opinion.
(CNN Spanish) --
This success story began with the great dilemma that worried the rulers as of 2020: save the economy or save lives?
In April 2020, I pointed out that each president faced this crossroads, "especially when he has a close relationship with certain interest groups and, of course, with large corporations."
What happened in the Dominican Republic is surprising in the face of the global economic crisis This is the good, the bad and the ugly of what happened:
The good
In the Dominican Republic, its then incoming president Luis Abinader, came with a strategy in that environment of economic collapse and inflation in 2020, he made his bet: with the curfew inherited from the previous government, in his first year he closed the country for Dominicans and opened it for foreigners.
Tourism is the main engine of the Dominican economy, so Abinader appointed David Collado as his Minister of Tourism, and both began meetings with the sector, launching the internal tourism plan while inviting foreigners (without the requirement of screening tests for coronavirus) with the incentive of medical insurance (covid-19).
The result was immediate:
- The Dominican Republic launched the Country Brand strategy in the US
- The Central Bank announced that the economy expanded by 12.7% (January-September 2021)
- Dominican tourism broke a record in December 2021
- The Dominican Republic became a member of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur-Madrid)
- The World Tourism Organization indicated that the Dominican Republic is the best country to invest and travel
The formula worked.
The newspaper The New York Times itself highlighted that the Dominican Republic has a booming tourism.
It was not a thing of a super powerful person, it was an effort of the sector
The Government and the tourism sector tried to diversify the tourist offer to reduce dependence on the paradisiacal Punta Cana by developing infrastructure in a poor region, but with great potential, the south.
They plan to build an airport in the province of Pedernales.
This has not prevented the north pole from being relaunched, especially Puerto Plata, where a summit of presidents was held and the Taino Bay tourist port was inaugurated, which already receives cruise ships.
But is it all tourism?
Government of the Dominican Republic does not contemplate restrictions despite an increase in cases of covid-19
The hidden hero that few turn to see
The remittances.
Yes, the diaspora.
2,081,419 Dominicans reside in the US, a figure higher than the population of the cities of Santo Domingo and Santiago, according to Adriano Espaillat, a Democratic representative from New York.
The Central Bank announced that remittances in 2021 exceeded those of 2019 by 46.8%, with year-on-year growth of 26.6%.
So, if Dominicans abroad are a strong engine of the economy, why aren't they encouraged to invest more, for example, in construction or tourism?
For me, those are the sectors in which capital could be repatriated a little.
Maybe I'm optimistic.
Remittances will always be the fish that does not teach how to fish, imagine repatriating the capital of the diaspora.
Dominican banks could guarantee privileged interest rates as long as they show that the money is repatriated.
The other hero was the construction sector: exempt from the Real Estate Transfer Tax (3%) and the Real Estate Patrimony Tax (1%) for 15 years to purchasers with new capital for the Dominican Republic.
A reduction in airfare taxes would help,
because for me the Dominican Republic taxes the tickets as if it didn't want visitors.
You will recover it in consumption.
Australia will allow entry to vaccinated tourists 1:05
The bad
For now, despite so much economic growth and such good projections, what I perceive is that there are many international loans, which add to the marked tendency to transfer State obligations and assets to private hands for their administration.
The government has made efforts to explain public-private partnerships and the figure of the trust, perhaps because there is confusion in public opinion.
Intentions may be good but they need better communication.
the ugly
Growth must be institutional as well.
What does not look good is that each president wants to stamp his signature on the Constitution.
Why?
When the institutionality goes out the door, foreign investment comes out through the hole of a needle.
In short, money does not go with rules of the game that change frequently, it goes where there is certainty and stability.
I tell my Strategic Communication students at Columbia University that good intentions are not enough in communication, positive initiatives must also be communicated well.
The Government is in an intense process of legislative revision for "structural reforms".
Upon being elected, Abinader said he wanted to be remembered as a "reforming president."
Of these reforms pursued by the Government, it is the Constitution that unleashes a "House of Cards".
Now that they flirt with the Constitution, it is in communication where the Government is failing, despite the fact that it has one point in its favor: Abinader has no impediment.
It would only have to identify an urgent problem whose (credible and necessary) solution requires such reform.
I think Abinader will seek re-election, period.
When I saw the governing party reform its statutes and introduce re-election, I thought: "let no one tell me the end because I can already see 2024 very clearly."
When a reform sought to favor a single individual, I spoke out, but as an independent citizen, my analysis does not mean that I will not vote for re-election if this government keeps its promises, if in 2024 we are better Dominicans, with better living conditions,