He year 2024 was marked by strong interest from the portal’s readers Free Diary in key themes like the labor reforms and fiscal, fuel prices and the economic growthamong other topics.
In general, it was a period full of important events in the country, characterized by being a election yearof reforms and by the effects of international conflicts, such as the crisis in Haiti and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. These situations, in an interconnected world, directly impacted the Dominican economy.
Reforms tax and labor
On October 7, the Executive power presented a project tax modernization with the objective of increasing collections by 122,486.6 million pesos annually. However, 12 days later, President Luis Abinader withdrew the project after rejection by various sectors, stating that it lacked the consensus necessary for its approval.
“We are going to have to return to the Budget we have, since the people spoke, we will make the adjustments, we have to finish the works that we have pending construction, but we must be careful when it comes to maintaining a controlled debt level,” said the president. Luis Abinader when answering questions from journalists in LA Semanal on October 21, 2024.
As for the labor reformthe government seeks to modernize the Labor Code after 32 years of validity. The project, presented on October 10, aims to expand rights and improve labor relations. According to the Minister of Labor, Luis Miguel De Camps, the text is the product of consensus between workers and employers, and its discussion will continue in January 2025, but within the discussions of the labor reform In the Senate, at least 11 business sectors bluntly launched their proposal to the Labor Code: limit unemployment to six years of work with a payment established under a calculation of ten minimum wages.
Tourism
An outstanding and widely followed piece of news was that of dominican tourism. He Ministry of Tourism reported that the Dominican Republic exceeded 10 million visitors for the second consecutive year, with 10,005,800 travelers as of December 1, 2024. This achievement was highlighted during an event led by President Luis Abinader and sector authorities.
Minister David Collado highlighted the number reached, including foreigners and Dominicans from the diaspora. The Government projects to close the year with 11.5 million tourists.
Economic growth
He Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reported that the economy grew 5.4% year-on-year in October 2024, reaching an average of 5.1% in the first ten months of the year. This performance occurred in an environment of price stability, with a year-on-year inflation of 3.16%, within the target range.
The growth consolidates the country as a leader in economic growth in Latin America, with IMF projections estimating a closing of the year at 5.1%.
Fuel prices
Despite the stability in fuel prices principals, the topic continues to be of great interest to readers. In 2024, the government allocated more than 16,000 million pesos in subsidies to mitigate the impact on consumers, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM).
Freight increase
He transport of goods faced important cost increases. In July, the price of a 20-foot container from Asia or Europe reached $8,100, a 170% increase from $3,000 at the beginning of the year. A similar situation occurred with 40-foot containers, whose price rose by 163%, according to data from ET Heinsen.
As rates began to stabilize towards the end of the year, the Dominican Republic is experiencing a key moment in its consolidation as a logistics hub in the Caribbean.
Infrastructure and energy
Readers showed interest in the Hostos Projectwhich seeks to electrically interconnect the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico through a submarine cablewill represent an investment of 2.2 billion dollars. This initiative, which could begin in 2027, stands out among the most relevant topics of the year for followers of Free Diary.
In June, the canadian mining Precipitate Gold announced new gold findings at the Pueblo Grande project, near Pueblo Viejo in Cotuí, which generated interest in the prospects for mining in the Dominican Republic. Readers paid close attention to this information.
legal lace
There was also evidence of interest in the information that the Monetary Board authorized the Central Bank release 35,335 million pesos from the legal reserve for loans intended for the construction and acquisition of homes, with 40% reserved for low-cost homes, with a price to date of 5,025,380.75 pesos. In addition, the resources will be distributed as follows: the remaining 60%, 21,213 million pesos, will go to loans for the construction and acquisition of homes. The amount released is equivalent to 1.75% of the liabilities subject to reserve requirements of each entity, calculated as of October 25.
The Guzmán Ariza Foundation of Urgent Spanish (Fundéu) has chosen “reform” as the word of the year 2024 in the Dominican Republic. Although it is not a new term, its presence in the media and its relevance in the political and social context of the country have made it the most prominent among other proposals.
The noun “reform”, whose meaning of “action and effect of reforming” has remained unchanged since 1884, was expanded in 2001 to include the meaning of “what is proposed or executed as an innovation or improvement.”
During 2024, it has been used extensively due to legislative initiatives focused on modifying key aspects of the national system, such as the Constitution, the Tax Code, the Labor Code, the National Police and the Public Administration.
Fundéu Guzmán Ariza highlighted the prominence of the word “reform” in public and legislative debates, although he regretted that, despite his suggestions, a more precise and correct wording has not been achieved in the modified Constitution.
He indicated that since it is a common name that refers to a type of procedure, and not a proper name, it is inappropriate to capitalize expressions such as constitutional reform, tax reform, labor reform, police reform, etc.
