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1 (November 3, 2004)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaaham0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21718 Updated November 3, 2004 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Dominican Republic: Political and Economic Conditions and Relations with the United States Clare M. Ribando Analyst in Latin American Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary President Leonel Fernindez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), who served as president previously (1996-2000), took office on August 16, 2004. Femindez is charged with helping the Dominican Republic recover from a deep economic crisis that occurred primarily as the result of three major banking failures and bailouts in 2003. Since then, the country has faced high inflation, double-digit unemployment, currency depreciation, and chronic power shortages. President Femindez used his electoral mandate to push the PRD-dominated Congress to pass tax increases as part of a fiscal reform package necessary to restart a suspended $600 million IMF loan. The package has been controversial, however, as it contains a tax on high fructose com syrup, a major U.S. product. If the tax is not repealed, it could jeopardize the Dominican Republic's inclusion in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR- CAFTA). For further information, see CRS Report RL32322, Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), coordinated by Larry Storrs, or CRS Report RS21868, U.S.-Dominican Republic Free- Trade Agreement, by Lenore Sek. This report will be updated periodically. Background The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. A population of about 8.8 million occupy a mostly mountainous area about the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined. With a per capita income of $2,230, it is considered a lower middle-income country. After fighting to achieve its independence from Spain in 1821 and then Haiti in 1844, the Dominican Republic embarked upon a bumpy road toward its current democratic form of government, characterized by long episodes of military dictatorship and frequent coups. Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress

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