Abinader invites Leonel to “fight” with the organizations that rate the country’s economy

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader recommended to former ruler Leonel Fernández to go and “fight” with the international organizations and rating agencies that attribute economic growth and stability to the country. “I recommend to my friend Leonel that he discuss the data we are providing with international organizations; I can give him the name of the director of FAO so he can argue with him, I can also put him in contact with ECLAC and the World Bank (…) I wish him good luck discussing this”, the head of state said in his Monday press conference at the National Palace.

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The president also invited Abinader to “fight” with the Moodys rating agency”, which last week raised the country’s credit rating to Ba2, the first since June 2017. The rating agency highlighted the country’s macroeconomic strength, its sustained growth, and institutional advances. Abinader reacted this way to recent statements made by Fernández, to the effect that the Government allegedly manipulates the figures in the economic and other aspects. Fernández, leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo, stated yesterday that the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), is the great failure of Dominican politics, because it promised a change that it has not fulfilled. Citing Central Bank statistics, Fernández said that “in the first half of the year the economy only grew by 2.7% and that in June it was only 1.2%. It is already impossible to continue doctoring the figures, construction is paralyzed, money is not circulating, there is a water crisis and long periods of blackouts that affect the people and 500 schools not built“, asserted the former president in a document served by his organization. Abinader presented today a summary of his five years in Government and explained that he was the first to say that the economy would not grow this year as expected, due to external factors, but that even so, it is the economy with the highest growth in Latin America. In another aspect, the president showed his concern about femicides and called on all of society to “do more” so that this is reduced. “It must be a campaign that must go beyond the Government, of the whole society, we must protect women, we must insist more,” said Abinader, and pointed out that “together” we must increase efforts so that this violence does not affect the country. He emphasized that his Government found three shelters for women in danger and that there are now 15 in total. In another part of his answers, he said that next week he will present more works to the country, “so that (the opposition) can count, count, and make their balance (…) then don’t call me an abuser.”