US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO2524

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 002524 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, INR; NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA 
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, EFIN, ENRG, KCOR, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTION #39: CANDIDATES SKETCH PLATFORMS 
 
 
 1. (SBU) This is no. 39 in our series on the Dominican 
presidential election: 
 
Candidates Sketch Platforms 
 
So far only Leonel Fernandez's PLD has published a platform 
for the May 16 presidential elections.  Newspapers of April 
26 indicate that Mejia's PRD will release a document in the 
next few days; Mejia promises that it will be readable, "not 
some 1500 page document" (the PLD platform consists, in fact, 
of 150 pages). The closest thing to a general declaration 
made by the PRSC's Eduardo Estrella is the speech he 
delivered on April 14 to the American Chamber of Commerce in 
Santo Domingo. 
 
That day presidential candidates Mejia and Estrella both 
addressed anti-corruption themes. 
 
Mejia at FINJUS 
 
At the last of 3 events sponsored by U.S.-supported NGO 
Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) 
USAID director Elena Brinema introduced Mejia and 
acknowledged government advances over the past two years in 
implementing a transparent, results-oriented budget with an 
integrated administrative and financial system and reducing 
presidential discretion in spending. 
 
Mejia acknowledged the difficulty of combating "traditional" 
corruption in the Dominican Republic, owing to ineffective 
laws and judicial laxness. He used the occasion to slam rival 
Fernandez as "tax evader" unable to explain the origins of 
his own fortune.  Unlike the Fernandez government, Mejia 
said, his administration confronted these problems head on, 
by passing various laws and establishing decrees and 
administrative standards to battle the problem. He had 
created an advisory commission to fight corruption and an 
ethics code for public service.  Mejia reaffirmed his respect 
for the separation of powers and the requirement not to 
influence or criticize judicial decisions.  He declared 
himself scandalized at Fernandez's "nerve" in coming to 
address FINJUS on the topic of corruption  and asserted that 
Fernandez had repeatedly fired officials who wanted to attack 
corruption.  Mejia cited Administrative Subsecretary Miguel 
Solano and prosecutor Guillermo Moreno. 
 
Estrella Sketches a Platform at the AmCham 
 
Before an American Chamber of Commerce audience the PRSC,s 
Eduardo Estrella advocated changing economic and other 
policies of the two previous administrations.  "Dominicans 
should be able to trust their government and aspire to 
success, not languish in desperation." 
 
Estrella said that if elected he would deal with corruption 
and bank fraud by reversing what he characterized as a lack 
of transparency and honesty by authorities over the past 
eight years.  He would do so by: 
 
---Not interfering in the prosecution or investigation of any 
allegations of fraud; 
 
---Involving all citizens in the fight against corruption; 
 
---Designing and launching a "Probity Commission" of civil 
society and professional groups to monitor the performance of 
government agencies; 
 
---Establishing a "real" Comptroller General to audit the 
private assets of government officials and compare these with 
the officials' required annual declarations of assets; and 
 
---Legislating a presumption of guilt of wrongdoing by 
officials who manage public accounts, who would be obliged to 
prove their innocence. 
On economic problems, Estrella saw a need to deter peso 
devaluation and to place ceilings on internal and external 
debt. He favored speeding up signing and implementation of 
the U.S.-Dominican free trade agreement during the 
post-election transition (before Aug. 16) and urged 
negotiation of a similar trade agreement with the European 
Union. 
 
Among other measures, Estrella advocated: 
 
---Fiscal Reform.  He slammed the current policy of 
increasing taxes. He called for a fiscal responsibility law 
similar to those in Brazil and Peru, reducing executive 
discretion in spending and prescribing criminal penalties for 
violators. 
 
---Austerity.  Estrella promised to reduce waste by 
restricting official travel abroad, use of cellular phones, 
purchase of SUVs and luxury vehicles, and electricity 
consumption. 
 
---Foreign Investment:  He proposed offering tax incentives 
to Dominicans living overseas to return to the country and 
establish businesses. 
 
---Energy.  On the premise that energy sector privatization 
had been poorly executed, Estrella proposed that generation 
companies also take over distribution and billing. 
 
---External Debt: He proposed renegotiating to obtain terms 
similar to those of the early 1990s, which allowed a 
reduction in principal payments and interest with grace 
periods lasting for almost 10 years. 
 
Estrella's full presentation is available on the Santo 
Domingo SIPRNET site. 
 
2. (U) Drafted by Leticia Cantu. 
 
3. (U) This report and others in this series can be read on 
the SIPRNET at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ index.cfm along 
with extensive current material. 
HERTELL