Withdrawal of the Tax Reform initiated the distancing between the former Minister of Finance and the Government

Since October 19, 2024, when President Luis Abinader announced the withdrawal from Congress of the Fiscal Modernization Bill, rumors began to circulate in the economic sphere that the then Minister of Finance, José (Jochi) Manuel Vicente Dubocq, would resign from his position. For the presentation of said reform project, the then Minister of Finance, along with his economic team composed of technicians such as Camila Hernández (Vice Minister of Tax Policy), Gian Lucas Marra (advisor) as well as other technicians still officials and vice ministers in Finance, worked for months on said project. Both Jochi and his team were totally convinced that said project was what was suitable for national public finances, and that it was also what multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Inter-American Bank (IDB), among others, had been suggesting for years.

When the project was finally presented to the public, Vicente came out to defend it before the media, even though due to his technical background, he was not very inclined to frequent the media and in fact, he didn't like it.

Upon the announcement of the project's withdrawal, in the face of widespread rejection from all sectors of society, activities in the ministry ceased and Minister Vicente entered a kind of media seclusion. The Ministry of Finance went from being an entity that frequently communicated credit information, fiscal, economic and social measures, to being a practically inoperative institution. Adding to this situation is the merger project between the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development and the Ministry of Finance, which has not yet been finalized. During that period, the Ministry of Finance went from being an active and dynamic entity in the communication of the government's fiscal milestones, to lasting for months without providing information to the media or convening economic journalists, who previously commonly met to inform the public through them with timely information.

This context prior to the formal resignation sent to the president on July 10th, they explain, perhaps, the "comic" reaction of Vicente upon the announcement of the appointment of economist Magín Díaz as the new Minister of Finance.

Upon the information being disclosed, Vicente posted a photo insinuating happiness for the designation of his successor.