Dominican Republic president sworn in for 3rd term

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SANTO DOMINGO — President Leonel Fernandez promised to boost agricultural production and warned of dire economic times as he was sworn in for a third term on Saturday.

Fernandez said a shaky U.S. economy and rising fuel and food prices would bring his country economic hardship, and he asked a joint session of Congress to approve US$210 million in loans for farmers to increase output and counter the downturn.

He boasted of more than 9 percent annual economic growth during his previous term, and noted unemployment has fallen to 14 percent from 20 percent during a 2004 economic crisis.

But "as this third term begins, a deteriorating global economy that has not been seen since the Great Depression is looming in the horizon," he said.

Fernandez coasted to re-election in May after two nonconsecutive terms as president, bolstered by growth in tourism and foreign investment. Even as his government faces criticism for using tax dollars to finance big-ticket items like a US$710 million capital city subway line, Fernandez on Saturday unveiled dozens of new projects, including dams, highways and a remodeling of the national library.

He also promised that a second metro line would be inaugurated early next year, although the first one has not yet opened. He did not say how much the projects would cost.

One in four Dominicans lives in poverty, despite the shopping malls and designer golf courses for tourists that are transforming the landscape of what once was a nation of sugar plantations.

The U.S. plays a pivotal role in the local economy: Americans buy about 80 percent of Dominican exports, have major investments in manufacturing and real estate and represent the bulk of tourists. The U.S. is also home to more than 1 million Dominican emigrants, who provide a tenth of the country's gross domestic product through remittances.

Fernandez, who grew up in New York, recently implemented a major U.S. trade agreement and on Saturday credited International Monetary Fund loans with helping to restore the economy after the collapse of several major banks sent the economy into a tailspin in 2004.

But he also blamed U.S. and European-run world financial institutions for leaving developing countries dependent on foreign loans and vulnerable to skyrocketing oil and commodities prices. Fernandez said small nations needed better representation within the groups like the IMF and World Bank.

"Free trade is not enough if at the same time it is not fair trade," he said.

Only about half the world leaders expected to attend the inauguration actually showed up. Some may have been deterred by Tropical Storm Fay, which continued to dump rains in Santo Domingo as Fernandez spoke.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, also attended, and called Fernandez's address "one of the most exciting speeches I have ever heard."

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