Dominican Republic: Political and Economic Conditions and Relations with the United States (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 1, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RS21718 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rebecca G. Rush and Clare Ribando Seelke, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), who served as president previously (1996-2000), took office on August 16, 2004. President Fernández has entered the second half of his four-year term in a relatively strong position. He has presided over a period of rapid economic growth (an estimated 10% in 2006), enjoys continued popular support, and now has a majority in both legislative chambers. Fernández has restored investor confidence in the Dominican economy and enacted some fiscal reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund but struggled to resolve the country's ongoing problems with corruption and electricity shortages. President Fernández seeks to maintain close ties with the United States and to improve relations with neighboring Haiti. His government has been criticized, however, for its mistreatment of undocumented Haitian migrants and for failing to comply with a 2005 ruling against it by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which mandated the provision of identity documents to Dominicans of Haitian descent. The Dominican Republic is expected to implement the U.S.-Dominican Republic- Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) by mid-January 2007. This report will be updated.
