[melissa]

I don't disagree with anything you've stated. Felix is the bag guy for the entire administration.

I can't wait to see what Danilo is going to do once he's in office.

Give his "Primo / Compadre / Compueblano" more work.

[PNCarl]

I don't disagree with anything you've stated. Felix is the bag guy for the entire administration.

I can't wait to see what Danilo is going to do once he's in office.

[occurrini]

Did anyone else notice the article about the new Luperon museum in Puerto Plata? Gregorio's birthplace home was torn down, and reconstructed, and now houses a museum.

Wonderful. I always thought it was a neat house to restore.

And all for "just" 90 million pesos..

90 million pesos.

90 million pesos.

What in the world was 90 million pesos spent on? The structure itself couldn't have been more than 10 million, at best.

1. New Luperon Museum in Puerto Plata
Yesterday, Thursday 28 June, President Leonel Fernandez inaugurated several projects in Puerto Plata province including the General Gregorio Luperon Museum. The house where the historic general lived was restored and turned into a museum at a cost of RD$90 million. Gregorio Luperon (8 September 1839 n 21 May 1897) is recognized as the main leader in the restoration of the Dominican Republic after the Spanish annexation in 1863. The annexation occurred when General Pedro Santana fearing renewed attack from Haiti, asked Spain to retake control of the country. The Dominican Republic had declared independence from Haiti in 1844.

The President said during the inaugural that the Dominican Republic was one of the few countries in the continent that after having achieved independence went on to have another revolution, the War of Restoration, in which General Luperon played a leading role.

The President was accompanied by the Administrative Minister of the Presidency Luis Manuel Bonetti, the president of the Permanent Commission of the Declaration of Independence Juan Daniel Balcacer and the governor of Puerto Plata Eridania Llibre Jimenez.

[Srewxardsasv]

graft

[rengerts]

I agree JD....about $2.3 million bucks is outrageous if the number is correct.

[Srewxardsasv]

I wonder if Haitian "illegals" were exploited in the reconstruction?

[rengerts]

Your incessant, arbitrary posts are gettin really old, really fast.

[Srewxardsasv]

Your incessant, arbitrary posts are gettin really old, really fast.

You approve of the exploitation of Haitians, meaning paying them less than a Dominican would work for?

[rengerts]

I was just getting ready to look up "exploitation". Thanks for the clarification.

[Srewxardsasv]

I was just getting ready to look up "exploitation". Thanks for the clarification.

What's arbitrary about the question?

[PNCarl]

I agree JD....about $2.3 million bucks is outrageous if the number is correct.

It was all well spent and documented I am sure......

[Dogxzysl]

It's outrageous but it happens everywhere in the world. I have heard so many likewise stories from my country where building a simple informative website costs 250,000 euros, an art object, being nothing more than a structure of iron bars 100,000 euros and those are only simple examples.

[occurrini]

It's outrageous but it happens everywhere in the world. I have heard so many likewise stories from my country where building a simple informative website costs 250,000 euros, an art object, being nothing more than a structure of iron bars 100,000 euros and those are only simple examples.

I'm the first to admit the graft is easily hidden in most cases, but this is a very small public works project, and to me, the amount sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Srewxardsasv]

I'm the first to admit the graft is easily hidden in most cases, but this is a very small public works project, and to me, the amount sticks out like a sore thumb.

You make an important observation here. We all know that corruption occurs in the US, for example. On both sides of the aisle and in all kinds of ventures. What's always struck me about RD is the way it's done so openly. At every level. It's systemic. It's expected. It appears to come from a disdain for the public at large. A sort of all-pervasive"¿Y que?".

[mralabama]

Porque si,porque no.

[Dogxzysl]

You make an important observation here. We all know that corruption occurs in the US, for example. On both sides of the aisle and in all kinds of ventures. What's always struck me about RD is the way it's done so openly. At every level. It's systemic. It's expected. It appears to come from a disdain for the public at large. A sort of all-pervasive"¿Y que?".

I was actually very surprised to find out that in a country like my own, according to studies scoring the lowest in the world on the corruption scale in the last 10 years corruption has been as visible as in DR.

[occurrini]

I was actually very surprised to find out that in a country like my own, according to studies scoring the lowest in the world on the corruption scale in the last 10 years corruption has been as visible as in DR.

OK, so they're corrupt.

Hey, at least here, they're doing a ton of public works projects.

You ever read the dailies with all the projects that Leonel is inaugurating on a daily basis?

I'm sure they number in the dozens, if not hundreds. (We won't go into quality) Roads, water systems, housing, electrical improvements, wind farms, plazas.. you could go on an on naming one after another.

These guys have doling out project after project and skimming some off the top of each one down to an art form.

[hechicxxrr]

The Fernandez administration 2004-2012 will go down in history as one of the most massively corrupt administrations in the history of the DR...However, he will be squeeky-clean...His foundation, however, will have more money than God and only a little less than Carlos Slim Helú.

Yes, he has built more than Balaguer. The quality is certainly in question, but the building, bridges, and roads are there for all to see and admire. The carpetbagger, Senator Felix Bautista, will be the banner carrier for how to bilk the country!!

No one in the history of this nation has ever handled more money and done more public works than Fernandez. We will be paying for this through 2030 and beyond.

HB

[occurrini]

I don't disagree with anything you've stated. Felix is the bag guy for the entire administration.

I can't wait to see what Danilo is going to do once he's in office.