Leonel Fernández addressed the country last night to refute the speech given by President Luis Abinader on February 27th, which he considers a masterpiece of the fictional genre that reflects a complete disconnection from the real world of the Dominican people.

Fernández pointed out that in his 2021 speech, President Abinader, based on data provided by the Central Bank, reported that the GDP had grown 12.3%. He clarified to the Government that this growth was inaccurate since it was calculated to the year of the pandemic, 2020, in which the economy experienced a severe drop of -6.7%.

“Now it turns out that last year, 2022, we had, according to the president of the nation, a remarkable annual growth. Could it be said that this 4.9% was remarkable when the Government proclaimed from the four winds that in 2021 we had grown 12.3%? One of two: either that 12.3% was a statistical rebound, as we had maintained, or what there was, then, taking advantage of the government figures, it was not notable growth, but a catastrophic collapse of our economy, since, making the calculations of Instead, it had a 7.4% drop in GDP,” he specified in his speech broadcast last night.

Inflation

Regarding inflation, the former president said that families in extreme poverty demand help with solid social policies and that they are the ones who do not even have enough to eat, which is why he suggests that the priority should be “eating comes first,” as proclaimed in his Government.

He added that the current administration had contracted debt for more than 24 billion dollars in less than three years.

“It is not true that it has fallen to GDP, as reported in the accountability speech. Between 2019 and 2022, the share of public debt increased from 50.5% to 59.1% of GDP, representing an increase, not a decrease, of 8.6 percentage points.

Unsafety

Fernández said that after almost three years of management, crime has increased, and citizen insecurity has remained one of the country’s primary concerns.

He said that there had been a substantial increase of approximately 26% in the homicide rate in the country and that what we have today that a culture of violence that has taken root in Dominican society that keeps it in a state of anxiety, fear, and fear insecurity to citizens.

Health

Regarding health, Fernández recalled that the president promised to build two sanitary cities in the country’s interior, one in San Cristóbal and another in the Duarte province. Still, to date, the construction of these centers has not begun.

He lamented the “horrifying and shocking” conditions experienced by patients at Hospital Salvador B. Gautier, where he said 911 Emergency System personnel had been forced to leave patients on ambulance stretchers for several days.

Education

Fernández also questioned the situation in education, electricity, and infrastructure spending and reiterated that the Dominican Republic is not a racist country where discrimination, xenophobia, and statelessness are practiced.