La coordinadora residente de Naciones Unidas, Julia Sánchez, comentó que la organización tiene una presencia importante en un país de ingresos medios. Agregó que en República Dominicana operan una docena de organizaciones de la ONU, donde casi todo el personal es dominicano, lo cual refleja parte de la evolución. Además, destacó que el país tiene la capacidad de abordar estos temas de desarrollo.
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NewsTranscript
00:00♪
00:29Good morning ladies and gentlemen, here a little bit late.
00:36There is a lot of news today,
00:41commenting that there are people who started the day celebrating,
00:47celebrating the recognition, the merit of recognition,
00:51that a Dominican woman won an Oscar yesterday.
00:55Yes, the first Dominican actress to win an Oscar.
00:59Congratulations to the President.
01:02I congratulate her immediately.
01:04That's right.
01:05Well, here in the patio, a lot of political activity,
01:10while the rain of reactions continues to the speech of the President
01:17before the Legislative Chamber,
01:19also the parties of the opposition are reorganizing,
01:24the People's Strength has planned for April
01:29to complete a process of renewal of its leadership.
01:33The PLD has to a great extent completed its own,
01:38but yesterday the PLD also had an internal act,
01:42but in the field of its President, Danilo Medina,
01:45and it is also reactionary in front of the speech of Abinader,
01:50and it is being said that the PLD
01:53intends to advance the renewal of its leaders,
02:00its directives,
02:03and it sounds like President Abinader as President of the party.
02:07That's right.
02:08And they will also have to appoint a secretary general,
02:12because the internal campaign that has already begun,
02:16and do not hesitate to review the images of what happened in Congress
02:20last Thursday,
02:22with some of the aspirants,
02:25who went with their troops.
02:27Aligned deputies.
02:29That's right.
02:30But well, today we will not have time to comment on all this news,
02:34because we have two very interesting interviews.
02:37The first of them with Majin Diaz,
02:39who is an economist,
02:40he was Director of Internal Affairs,
02:44and a man of the forefront,
02:46he is every day analyzing national and international events,
02:50and later we will talk to Julia Sánchez.
02:54She is the representative,
02:57the coordinator of the United Nations
03:03here in the Dominican Republic.
03:05So there are two very interesting interviews.
03:08And Majin is already sitting here with us.
03:12Majin, if we start with the global,
03:16how excited is the world?
03:18How do you see the immediate future of the economy today?
03:21In the United States there is what some call an involuntary revolution.
03:28Yes.
03:29And Europe and the United States are confronted.
03:32How is this?
03:34Look, there is a lot of uncertainty.
03:37It was never thought that we were going to use the tarpaulins again,
03:41to make a commercial war.
03:44I mean, what is happening has almost no precedent.
03:48There is a Trump confrontation with the Central Bank of North America.
03:53Economists also thought that this was something from the past.
03:57I mean, a lot of things are happening.
04:00Meanwhile, the North American economy continues to grow so far,
04:04and that has helped us in recent years.
04:07Now people really ask me,
04:09and well, you don't know what's going to stop this.
04:12What one would think is that Trump is not going to do everything he says,
04:16that he is using the threat of the tarpaulins precisely for that,
04:20to negotiate, to achieve political concessions.
04:23Because in the end, if he puts the tarpaulins at the levels
04:26that he is telling his main partners like Canada, Mexico and China,
04:31the most harmed are the North Americans.
04:34To begin with, the prices of everything are going to rise.
04:37To begin with, there is going to be a great disruption of production chains.
04:42I mean, he has no idea what he is doing, from an economic point of view.
04:47Maybe he wants to do it, as I said, to achieve a political objective.
04:51Meanwhile, well, we have to follow him.
04:54We do not comply with the criteria to put tarpaulins,
04:59because the first criterion that Trump is using
05:02is that the United States has a trade balance.
05:05And also, we are quite small, and we are close,
05:10so I think he is not necessarily going to do it.
05:13And what does it have to do with entire regions, like in the case of Europe,
05:18that the United States is also threatening to impose tarpaulins?
05:22Not to everyone.
05:23Look, the issue is that, not with Trump, but for several years,
05:28globalization, as we knew it, is over.
05:31You are not going to negotiate with the one that sells you cheaper,
05:36which is the essence of free trade, but with your friend,
05:39which is the friend-sharing, or with the one that is close to you, which is the near-sharing.
05:45So now we are going to move to a region, to a stage of blocks.
05:50Some will align with China, others with the United States,
05:53and the world is recomposing, as when the tarpaulins move.
05:58Speaking of that, there are analysts who are proposing that Europe
06:04is almost culminating, getting closer to the bridges,
06:07in the face of a situation like the one that Trump is proposing.
06:10Well, it is difficult. The problem with Europe, unlike the United States,
06:15is that Europe does not grow. Economically, it is a stagnant economy.
06:20Last year it grew 0.8%, less than 1% in recent years.
06:25And above all, you are as emblematic as Germany and England.
06:30Yes. So, from an economic point of view,
06:33Europe has to see how it is going to grow again.
06:36And its natural ally is the United States.
06:39Now that will depend on how erratic Trump's economic policy will be.
06:46Now, it is a sufficiently large area to not have to depend on the United States.
06:52And we will see how it will be. Now, the key to this is how to grow again,
06:56because it is not growing, unlike the United States.
06:58Does this international situation have an impact on the Dominican Republic?
07:03Well, everything that happens abroad has an impact,
07:05because our exports depend on two-thirds of the United States.
07:1285% of the remittances come from the United States.
07:15The rest, a large part from Europe.
07:17Tourism.
07:1840% of the tourists who came last year are North American residents.
07:23A large part of them are Dominican.
07:25They also come from Europe. It is an interconnected world.
07:31What has benefited us in recent years is that the United States has grown a lot.
07:36So, that pushes exports, remittances, tourism,
07:40something that has been harming us for a year and a half,
07:43which is the high interest rates in the United States.
07:46And that seems to be going to continue.
07:48I think that is one of the most important variables that will affect us this year
07:53and that affected us last year.
07:55I mean, the world has changed.
07:56The United States, for almost 15 years, had zero interest rates.
08:00And it is not the same.
08:02The management of monetary and fiscal policy here with zero international rates,
08:07zero interest rates,
08:09now that they are at 4.5%, etc., in the United States,
08:13and they are not going to go down.
08:14For now, at least.
08:15A dismantling of the high interest rate had begun here.
08:20But that was stopped.
08:21Will it stay there or will it return?
08:23Well, I think that the Central Bank has already decided not to lower its monetary policy rate
08:28in the last month.
08:29I think it should not touch it and it will not touch it in the first semester.
08:33Because if it lowers it more, there will be pressure on the type of bed.
08:36The type of bed will go up.
08:37And here the type of bed is a variable that makes everyone nervous.
08:40It goes up a little bit and people go crazy.
08:43But it is not that it is going to go up, it is that it has gone up.
08:45It has depreciated 6% last year.
08:48That is a lot.
08:49What is a lot or little is relative.
08:52In 2020 it depreciated 10% and nothing happened.
08:56Now it is a political variable in the country.
08:59People get nervous.
09:00Now the issue is that the world has changed, as I said.
09:04With a high interest rate abroad, there is exchange rate pressure.
09:08Because people see it more profitable to deposit in dollars.
09:11That is what has happened.
09:12It is a financial issue.
09:14Here there is no problem of currency flow.
09:16The remittances are going well, the exports are going well, the tourism is going well.
09:20But with the high rates abroad, that creates an exchange rate pressure.
09:25So what did the Central Bank do?
09:27It stopped.
09:28It stopped lowering the rate.
09:30In fact, the market rates did not go down.
09:33And it also lost more than $2 billion in reserves to contain the exchange rate pressure.
09:38That pressure has continued this year.
09:40Now with the placement of bonuses of $2.5 billion, more dollars have entered.
09:45That calms that pressure.
09:47But that is going to happen throughout the year.
09:49Now there is not going to be an exchange rate crisis.
09:52What we have to get used to is that instead of depreciating 3% or 4%,
09:58now it is going to be 6% or 7%.
10:00A little more.
10:01A little more.
10:04Well, let's also talk in a more punctual way about the challenges at the internal level.
10:11How the internal economy works and the immediate challenges that the Dominican government has.
10:18Look, the important thing is,
10:21my government friends don't like me to say it,
10:24but here there are no political ideologies.
10:27The PRM, the PLD win.
10:29It is the same political environment.
10:30It is the same economic policy.
10:32Here there is no risk that an ideology will give you trouble with the macroeconomy.
10:38So the presidents, if you hear the speech, say the same thing about the macroeconomy.
10:42International reserves, exports, inflation, stability.
10:49And that's fine.
10:50What happens is that people don't value that.
10:52Here the main thing is that we have macroeconomic stability,
10:55which means an economy that grows sustainably with low inflation.
10:59Now, what we don't solve are structural problems.
11:02They are the same.
11:03The electric sector has problems.
11:06The labor market, informality.
11:08Fiscality.
11:09The fiscal problem, well, it got under the rug.
11:12I mean, we didn't make reforms as if everything was fine.
11:15No, there is a problem.
11:16So those are the challenges that the government has
11:20in the face of a brutal budgetary restriction.
11:23I am preaching, right, as if I were a pastor or a Mormon,
11:28saying, watch out, for three years now,
11:31public investment has been the adjustment variable
11:34to balance the budgetary restriction.
11:37It's on the ground.
11:39So the president wants to spend eight years with that investment on the ground.
11:44That's not just going to be...
11:46What does he attribute it to?
11:47It's not that the explanation is simple.
11:49There is no fourth.
11:50There is no money.
11:51So the government...
11:52And why is there no fourth?
11:54The government has been starting a set of very expensive projects.
12:00Well, look, you have to look at the data.
12:03What has been the average investment of this government,
12:05investment in infrastructure?
12:07Around 2.5% of GDP.
12:10How much was it when Leonel?
12:124%, more or less, of GDP.
12:15For you to have an idea...
12:17And when Danilo?
12:18It was like 3%, a little more than 3%.
12:20Now, for you to have an idea of the problem,
12:23in this year's budget, public investment is half the interest.
12:29The interest is...
12:30The interest is the debt.
12:31Yes, the interest is 300 billion pesos that must be paid this year,
12:35similar to education.
12:37And public investment is like 150,000.
12:40So a country is not going to move forward
12:43with a government where the interest rate is doubled,
12:47the investment in infrastructure.
12:48That's why the economy is growing, there is macro stability,
12:51but the quality of life is low.
12:53There is no water, there is no drainage,
12:55more roads are needed,
12:57the roads have to be expanded, maintenance has to be done.
13:00Electricity has to be cut.
13:01Electricity has to be cut.
13:02A lot of investments have to be made.
13:03So I think that is, within all the challenges that exist...
13:07And what can the government do to remedy that situation?
13:11Oh, what Churchill said,
13:14blood, sweat and tears.
13:16This doesn't have an easy solution.
13:18If the spending is not going to go down,
13:20because it's not going to go down,
13:22and that's been shown,
13:23in fact, in recent years, public spending has increased,
13:26but the current spending has increased.
13:28The spending on wages, on social programs,
13:31on government purchases,
13:33that's what has increased, the current spending.
13:35But what the government's budget doesn't give
13:38to cover the current spending, that's very serious.
13:40We are in debt to pay current spending.
13:43Well, what is the solution?
13:44We have to look for...
13:46And the issue of fiscal reform.
13:49Do you think it is correct that the president insists
13:52on not putting it back on the table,
13:55considering this fiscal strait that public finances have?
13:58Well, what happens is that it's easy.
14:00I am an economist and an academic.
14:02It's easy, and I'm also outside the government.
14:04From the outside, everyone...
14:06It's easy what one says,
14:07you have to do this, you have to do that.
14:09The president has all the edges,
14:11he has the political side.
14:13He considers that no,
14:14I think the government did very badly
14:16in the public eye.
14:18The government thought,
14:19let's put this in the public eye of Congress,
14:21they're going to praise my management,
14:23and they gave him a bucket of water.
14:25Everyone is against it.
14:27That process was very anarchic, too.
14:29Well...
14:30Because they brought people who didn't have any representation.
14:33But you have to learn from those processes.
14:35I think the government underestimated
14:37the political economy of reforms.
14:39Now, reforms are needed,
14:41it's not a whim.
14:43The issue is that people are saying,
14:46you can't impose taxes on me
14:48because I'm not satisfied with the quality of the tax.
14:51But that's always going to happen.
14:52And it happens in other countries.
14:54But now it's on social media.
14:55Now the government...
14:56Now, one thing.
14:57...has no other options.
14:58No, one thing.
15:00All the countries that have tried to reform
15:02in these times on social media
15:04haven't done very well.
15:06Yes, but of course not.
15:07So it was easy...
15:08In Colombia, there are two governments.
15:10Of course.
15:11It was easy to talk about a reform
15:1310, 15, or 20 years ago.
15:15Now it's much more difficult.
15:16Now the government, well,
15:18has no other option.
15:19What's increasing is the public debt.
15:21The public debt increases by $5 billion every year.
15:24And it's true that the government...
15:25Up to one day.
15:26...can go down in history
15:28as the country that owes the most to this country.
15:30In absolute terms, yes.
15:33In dollars.
15:34In dollars, the government's debt plus the central bank's
15:37on average increases by $5 billion.
15:39The issue is the trend.
15:41Because there's no way you can solve the deficit issue...
15:44Of course.
15:45...without looking for money.
15:46No, the trend is...
15:47Look, as the economy has grown,
15:49as a percentage of GDP, it's growing moderately.
15:52But the interests are growing a lot.
15:55The interests...
15:56Not moderately.
15:57No, the interests are growing 20% a year.
15:59That's not sustainable.
16:01Now, if you don't do anything...
16:04For example, how much is the budget deficit this year?
16:07$250 billion.
16:09That's where the debt is going to increase.
16:11Because that's money you have to look for.
16:12Of course, of course.
16:13That's only the government.
16:14And next year it's going to be the same?
16:15The same.
16:16And in the next three years?
16:17Of course, then...
16:18Because if there's no...
16:19If there's no more income...
16:21There's no income to cover the level of spending
16:23that the political class wants, so...
16:25And what is the risk that the government has now
16:27with all these works in process?
16:29I'm talking about self-painting art,
16:31the Vanini Circumvalation,
16:33the train of the Alcarrizos,
16:35which is almost finished,
16:36it's missing,
16:37they need more money,
16:39the Alcarrizos Circumvalation,
16:41the one in San Francisco de Macorís,
16:43the one in Tamboril...
16:44Well, first they have to prioritize,
16:48because they haven't only had a lack of money problem,
16:51but an execution problem.
16:52Sometimes they have the money, but they don't execute.
16:54That's already an administrative problem
16:56that needs to be solved.
16:59Now, what did Leonel do in 2012?
17:02Well, he owed a lot in the end
17:04to finish his works.
17:05Yes, but he ended up in a hole.
17:07Exactly.
17:08A fiscal hole.
17:09Well, then, there aren't many options.
17:11Either he slows down and continues
17:13drop by drop with the public investment,
17:15I think that hurts the country,
17:17or he looks for more income on one side,
17:19or he owes more.
17:20But we're talking about evasion,
17:22and you were Director of Internal Affairs.
17:24The next call.
17:25You were a collector.
17:27We all remember that.
17:29Evasion is very high.
17:31Look, evasion is high.
17:33It's a structural problem.
17:36It's a cultural problem.
17:38There's no evidence that it's gone down
17:41in the last four or five years.
17:43I think a reform that simplifies
17:46and helps the administration is needed.
17:48But doing the same,
17:51or maybe not even the same,
17:53won't solve the problem.
17:55So, look,
17:57what the government collects
17:59in this period
18:01isn't even enough to cover
18:03the current spending.
18:05That's very serious for an economy.
18:07The increase in current spending
18:09has eaten up all the increase
18:11in income.
18:13So, here we have to look for a reform
18:15that corrects that,
18:17knowing the rigidity
18:19on the side of spending.
18:21So, I think the fight against evasion
18:25is a day-to-day issue.
18:27There won't be miracles
18:29that it will go down
18:31from one year to the next,
18:33that it will solve the problem.
18:35This will require a combination
18:37of tough measures,
18:39of tax administration.
18:41The administration has to be tough.
18:43That means changing its discourse.
18:45And why do all governments
18:47in recent times
18:49insist on seeking consensus
18:51on such complicated issues
18:53that divide both people
18:55and taxes?
18:57No, we always have to look for consensus.
18:59What happens is that
19:01consensus isn't unanimity.
19:03We have to listen to the sectors.
19:05It's one thing to listen to people,
19:07to consult people.
19:09That's clear.
19:11We have to look for consensus.
19:13But decisions have to be made.
19:15There won't be people
19:17who won't agree.
19:19But consensus isn't unanimity.
19:21Consensus isn't unanimity.
19:23Even if they take away
19:25the exemptions they have.
19:27The government has to find a balance.
19:29I think the business sector
19:31will support measures.
19:33Obviously, the government
19:35has to put in concrete measures
19:37to continue increasing
19:39the quality of spending.
19:41That's difficult to measure.
19:43And second, you can't say
19:45I'm saving, saving,
19:47and the spending goes up.
19:49No, there's no saving.
19:51It's the same payroll.
19:53So be careful.
19:55People aren't stupid.
19:57So we'll have to put
19:59the government on both sides
20:01to give clearer signals.
20:03Why was that situation?
20:05People voted massively
20:07for the re-election.
20:09Because the government wasn't bad.
20:11And I'll tell you what I think.
20:13The macroeconomic stability
20:15was maintained.
20:17COVID was managed
20:19quite well.
20:21Obviously, there was
20:23an institutional upheaval.
20:25And this period
20:27couldn't be simulated.
20:29Look at what's happening.
20:31There was a depletion of GDP,
20:33a natural wear.
20:35But GDP is an infrastructure
20:37for the management of the state.
20:39The public debt has changed.
20:41No, that was left
20:43by a modern law,
20:45a modern institution that manages the debt.
20:47It's the same with the administration.
20:49The PRM said, let's change everything
20:51in the tax administration.
20:53And what did it do?
20:55Follow the existing infrastructure.
20:57So there was an infrastructure
20:59to manage the state.
21:01Obviously, there were a lot of experienced people.
21:03There was a learning curve
21:05that in some cases was long.
21:07For example, the execution
21:09of public investment.
21:11That doesn't have much explanation.
21:13Sometimes the money
21:15wasn't executed.
21:17But in general,
21:19in all the external crises
21:21that the government faced, it wasn't a bad government.
21:23Now,
21:25another thing is that COVID was left behind.
21:27You can't blame it.
21:29And the PLD was left behind.
21:31Yes, there are a lot of officials
21:33who lost their speech
21:35because their speech was
21:37that everything before
21:39was bad, everything after was corrupt.
21:41After four years,
21:43they have nothing to say.
21:45They have to change their speech.
21:47Create a narrative.
21:49And the government
21:51will have to make a decision.
21:53The president
21:55has to make difficult decisions
21:57on taxes,
21:59on public investment,
22:01on the electric sector.
22:03I want to go there
22:05about the electric sector.
22:07About the difficult decisions.
22:09How can we
22:11reinforce the situation?
22:13Well,
22:15the government's way
22:17of reinforcing it was
22:19to appoint Don Celso Marrancini.
22:21And he has
22:23a speech about depoliticizing
22:25the sector.
22:27Now, I said that
22:29the president will have to make difficult decisions.
22:31Because here,
22:33a decision was made to give 100%
22:35of the energy.
22:37That means that he is giving it
22:39to people who steal the electricity and don't pay for it.
22:41Now, the government
22:43has already shown that it will not remove that policy.
22:45It tried to do it and
22:47it failed.
22:49Now, that means
22:51that this is not the way.
22:53So, the only way
22:55to improve the distribution companies
22:57is to invest a lot.
22:59But to invest, you have to look for money.
23:01So, the government either has to
23:03stop spending on other things to
23:05the distribution companies
23:07or it has to borrow more.
23:09Now, if it doesn't do it,
23:11it will give some distribution companies
23:13in 2028 in a much worse
23:15condition than it inherited.
23:17Because the reality is that
23:19in 2020, the one in the south and the one in the north
23:21had losses of 20%.
23:23They were going down.
23:25The one in the east was a disaster.
23:27Now, the one in the east lost 40% in 2020.
23:29Now, it is losing 60%.
23:31So,
23:33it was four years,
23:35the first four years,
23:37when there was no real progress.
23:39And that is why the president
23:41gives the sector to a manager
23:43with experience, honest,
23:45who has nothing to look for.
23:47He is not going to look for
23:49political or economic gains.
23:51He wants to do it well,
23:53but he is not Superman either.
23:55If they don't give him money,
23:57it will be very difficult.
23:59Well, that's it.
24:01Thank you very much for your words.
24:03If you invite me, I will go.
24:05Thank you very much.
24:07The space is still open.
24:09Of course.
24:11These topics do not end now.
24:13Ladies and gentlemen,
24:15with your permission,
24:17we are going to take a break.
24:19And when we come back,
24:21we are going to talk with the representatives,
24:23the resident coordinators of the United Nations system
24:25here in the Republic of Mexico.
24:27Curious.
24:31Curious.
24:35Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen,
24:37for continuing with this
24:39your one plus one newscast.
24:41We are going to receive here
24:43Julia Sanchez, who is the resident coordinator
24:45of the United Nations system
24:47here in the
24:49American Republic.
24:51She has been here for six months.
24:53She is of Peruvian origin.
24:55Latin American.
24:57And how good.
24:59The United Nations has several agencies
25:01through which
25:03multiple projects are carried out
25:05that promote development.
25:07We could situate a little bit
25:09what is the moment
25:11when international cooperation is found
25:13through the United Nations
25:15here in the Dominican Republic.
25:17With great pleasure.
25:19Thank you very much for the invitation.
25:21Good day.
25:23Yes, indeed, the United Nations
25:25has an important presence here
25:27of medium income.
25:29You know that it is no longer a country that requires
25:31a cooperation of implementation of projects
25:33and a very strong presence,
25:35the footprint they call it.
25:37But we do give a lot of technical support,
25:39and more technical support
25:41in different areas.
25:43There are a dozen agencies that are present
25:45in the country that have offices,
25:47personal programs.
25:49Almost all the staff of the United Nations
25:51is Dominican, which is part of that evolution,
25:53that it is already a country
25:55that has the capacity to work
25:57on these issues of development.
25:59We know that in the Dominican Republic
26:01there is very important progress,
26:03very important advances at the level of sustainable development.
26:05But there are also some
26:07important challenges
26:09that remain to be resolved.
26:11And that is where the United Nations
26:13is focusing above all.
26:15For example,
26:17inequality, poverty,
26:19hunger.
26:21There are very ambitious goals
26:23that have been given by the same country,
26:25but there is still a need
26:27to do very intense work
26:29so that these goals are achieved.
26:31Today we are already thinking
26:33that this week, Saturday,
26:35is International Women's Day.
26:37So there are issues around women,
26:39femicide, violence in general,
26:41early pregnancies.
26:43There are health issues
26:45and the condition of women,
26:47which are still challenges that are not
26:49on par with the progress we see in other areas.
26:51The government highlighted
26:53the advances we are seeing
26:55in prevention of teenage pregnancies,
26:57for example,
26:59and also in its last public speech
27:01talked about
27:03reducing poverty.
27:05And above all,
27:07the goal of ending hunger
27:09and extreme poverty
27:11in a very short period.
27:13Yes, they are very ambitious goals.
27:15We support them.
27:17It is possible, but you have to work a lot.
27:19It will not be easy.
27:21That is why the United Nations is here,
27:23precisely to accelerate
27:25the progress that is already being made
27:27and to be able to reach those goals.
27:29You know that we have
27:31the 2030 Agenda, which is a global agenda
27:33to which the Dominican Republic
27:35adheres. So that is a goal
27:37that we only have five years,
27:39five years less, two months
27:41to make important advances.
27:43Globally, it is going slow,
27:45among others because of COVID,
27:47which really left us a couple of years
27:49and rather made us go back a little.
27:51And at the local level?
27:53At the local level, we are doing better than at the global level.
27:55We are doing better than the global average,
27:57almost double,
27:59more advanced,
28:01but we still have ...
28:03In what goals?
28:05Look, in general, the world,
28:07since last year, we are going to have figures
28:09updated for 2024.
28:11But in 2023, when
28:13progress was evaluated, the world
28:15had made progress
28:17in 17%
28:19of the goals,
28:21that is, we were going badly.
28:23The Dominican Republic,
28:25almost double, almost double
28:27of the goals that have been set,
28:29were already fulfilled
28:31or well on track.
28:33It was a little less than 40%.
28:35And what goals are we talking about?
28:37A little of everything,
28:39because they are indicators,
28:41they are indicators that are like 100 indicators
28:43In terms of inequality?
28:45Inequality, we are going backwards,
28:47unfortunately.
28:49That is, despite the economic progress,
28:51poverty, as you said,
28:53has fallen in this country.
28:55However, inequality has grown a little.
28:57That is, we are going a little backwards.
28:59Does this include gender inequality?
29:01Gender inequality, definitely,
29:03because when we talk about general inequality,
29:05and then we look at vulnerable groups,
29:07including women,
29:09there it is more accentuated.
29:11And economic inequality?
29:13Economic inequality in general,
29:15inequality of access to opportunities,
29:17access to health,
29:19to education,
29:21when all that is measured together,
29:23we see that small but significant
29:25setback,
29:27a setback is not good,
29:29in inequality.
29:31So if a country is progressing,
29:33there is a stable economy,
29:35there is growth,
29:37poverty is reducing, which is excellent,
29:39but that inequality
29:41does not go in the right direction.
29:43There are some alarming indicators
29:45for a country
29:47that talks about
29:49medium economic growth,
29:51medium-high economic development.
29:53That is, it is medium income,
29:55but it is very sustained growth,
29:57it is one of the best in the country.
29:59And those indicators,
30:01for example,
30:03maternal mortality,
30:05neonatal mortality,
30:07the same problem of
30:09femicide,
30:11violence,
30:13the Dominican Republic
30:15is proud
30:17and with all the merit
30:19of having a position
30:21at a regional level and sometimes even global,
30:23very advanced.
30:25For a small country that has recently
30:27started this sustained and accelerated
30:29growth, it really has an enviable
30:31position in the region,
30:33definitely.
30:35We also find that on some issues
30:37that you have mentioned, several of them,
30:39the other is traffic, motor accidents,
30:41also ...
30:43Traffic accidents and mortality.
30:45Exactly. So in those issues
30:47that are specific
30:49but are important,
30:51it is the opposite.
30:53If we compare with the region,
30:55the Dominican Republic is far below
30:57or far above, if it is negative.
30:59In a negative index.
31:01Exactly. So there is a dissonance
31:03between a lot of progress, a lot of success,
31:05a lot of capacity, a lot of leadership,
31:07but on certain issues really
31:09a lot of work that remains for us to do.
31:11And the United Nations is here for that,
31:13to support the government and society.
31:15And what conscience do you support?
31:17Especially technical, precisely
31:19because of the stage of development
31:21that the country is in.
31:23Less developed countries sometimes require
31:25the United Nations to be more directly
31:27involved in the field, implementing
31:29programs, a more
31:31hands-on approach,
31:33as we say in English.
31:35But for a country that is already
31:37in the middle of income, that has more
31:39own capacity, support becomes
31:41more of a technical support.
31:43Support to develop
31:45protocols, law projects,
31:47training, training.
31:49But while it is true
31:51that there is that growth,
31:53it is recognized internationally,
31:55you recognize that there are very high levels
31:57of inequality.
31:59Obviously, some figures
32:01refer to that.
32:03In relative terms, poverty has reduced
32:05a lot, but in absolute terms,
32:07the population that lives
32:09in precarious conditions
32:11is still significant.
32:13And that requires money,
32:15not just technical support.
32:17No, that's right, but the money,
32:19many of the resources that are needed,
32:21the state has the capacity
32:23to put those resources
32:25available,
32:27but also when a country
32:29becomes a country of middle income
32:31or advanced, of high income,
32:33it has more access to loans
32:35and less to donations.
32:37And you recommend,
32:39for example, to vary the quality
32:41of the destination of loans, loans.
32:43We have the case of health.
32:45A country of this type
32:47invests less than 2%
32:49in public health.
32:51That's right, and those are decisions
32:53that the government is making
32:55as it advances
32:57in its development,
32:59seeing where the gaps are,
33:01where to invest more,
33:03where things are better.
33:05We are supporting, to give a concrete example
33:07of technical support, we are supporting
33:09at the interagency level.
33:11There are several agencies involved
33:13in supporting the government at this time
33:15to adopt a mechanism to plan
33:17the financing of its
33:19long-term development strategy.
33:21So, precisely for that
33:23you say, where do the resources
33:25come from for those ambitious goals
33:27and those important gaps
33:29that the country still has?
33:31There is no mechanism for that
33:33because the budgets are
33:35annual, they are very
33:37temporary, and there is no long-term
33:39vision for the country,
33:41reflected in the sustainable development strategy,
33:43but there is no long-term
33:45financing framework at this time.
33:47So we are working, supporting the government
33:49to adopt that mechanism
33:51so that they can say precisely,
33:53ok, we need to invest more in health,
33:55where are those money coming from?
33:57Are they loans? Is it the budget
33:59of the state? Are they going to make
34:01donations? Where are those
34:03contributions coming from?
34:05Well, we have to take a break.
34:07Yes, we are going to take a break and we will be back.
34:09With your permission.
34:11Music
34:13Music
34:15Music
34:17Thank you for staying with Uno Más Uno.
34:19I am here with Julia Sánchez.
34:21She is a resident coordinator
34:23in the Dominican Republic of the United Nations.
34:25Before we take a break,
34:27I would like us to start
34:29in this block, the topic of the conversation
34:31about gender inequality,
34:33which is also part of
34:35this 2030 Agenda.
34:37Saturday is International Women's Day,
34:39but many times we only focus on
34:41the topic of violence, and here,
34:43in addition to femicides, we have
34:45a whole gap in political participation.
34:47For example, only two ministers
34:49in the cabinet of
34:51President Luis Abinader,
34:53only four senators,
34:55of 32, 16 mayors,
34:57of 158 municipalities,
34:59and that's it. So, tell us a little bit
35:01Julia, the challenges that as a country
35:03we have in terms of gender.
35:05Thank you. Let's start
35:07with the topic of participation.
35:09Everything is relative, and for me,
35:11I think in the United Nations, we see things globally
35:13and how is the Dominican Republic.
35:15In terms of participation,
35:17there has been progress,
35:19and that encourages us to continue
35:21working forward.
35:23The president mentioned it on February 27,
35:25that in the last election,
35:27there was a historical number of women
35:29who entered as deputies,
35:31although in the Senate not yet,
35:33and in other areas as well.
35:35That is interesting,
35:37it shows us that it can be done badly.
35:39But that falls with the designations
35:41that he himself was able to make
35:43He mentioned legislative institutions,
35:45politics, city councils,
35:47congresses, but add to that
35:49the high courts, which are very important
35:51bodies of power in the Dominican Republic.
35:53Women are pyrrhic minorities.
35:55That's right.
35:57None of the high courts
35:59are run by women.
36:01So, there are still many challenges.
36:03So, we work on that issue,
36:05it is one of the priority issues.
36:07We have a development objective,
36:09the five, that focuses on that issue,
36:11but in all development objectives,
36:13in the 17, in the entire agenda,
36:15the issue of women's participation,
36:17women's benefit,
36:19women's rights,
36:21permeates everything,
36:23because it is 50% of the population,
36:25and unfortunately,
36:27in almost all instances,
36:29the group of most vulnerable people
36:31is formed,
36:33those who need more attention,
36:35we find women.
36:37So, there is definitely a lot of work to be done,
36:39although we see that there is progress,
36:41there is progress on the issue of femicides,
36:43there is progress on the issue
36:45of early marriages,
36:47but still,
36:49and if we compare with the world,
36:51with the region,
36:53the Dominican Republic still has
36:55more important challenges than other countries,
36:57than its neighboring countries,
36:59in these key issues.
37:01And the legal issue,
37:03a criminal code that is not approved
37:05for not allowing women to decide,
37:07prevention, sanction, eradication,
37:09which is not approved either.
37:11And that is a progress, for example,
37:13that at a global level,
37:15it has been noticed that many countries
37:17already have that legal framework.
37:19Although implementation is still a challenge,
37:21at least they already have that legal framework.
37:23It seems that the basic problem
37:25has nothing to do with the legal framework.
37:27It is the implementation.
37:29There are legislations that punish,
37:31for example,
37:33femicide, child abuse,
37:35gender violence,
37:39but that is a first step.
37:41If we do not have the law,
37:43we cannot implement it.
37:45The law is not enough,
37:47we have to implement it,
37:49but it is a first step.
37:51So, at a global level,
37:53this year we are celebrating
37:55the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration
37:57and the Beijing Action Platform,
37:59which is still the most ambitious agenda
38:01to achieve equality for women
38:03and one of the indicators that is being looked at
38:05in relation to violence
38:07is how many countries already have their legal framework.
38:09Unfortunately, the United States
38:11is not yet part of that group.
38:13Then, obviously, we have to see the implementation
38:15and there are some countries that are doing well,
38:17others less well,
38:19but that is a topic that, hopefully,
38:21this year there could be an advance
38:23here in that process.
38:25Julia, the United Nations system,
38:27several agencies
38:29of the United Nations
38:31share their action in the Dominican Republic
38:33with that of Haiti.
38:35And there are problems there.
38:37There is no medium-high development
38:39or less.
38:43What can you tell us
38:45about that reality?
38:47What is being done and what should be done?
38:49Well, just a couple of days ago
38:51was my counterpart,
38:53the resident coordinator in Haiti,
38:55here in Santo Domingo,
38:57and we had the opportunity to talk
38:59because in person it is always better
39:01than by telephone, by Zoom, by Teams.
39:03Definitely,
39:05things there are not well
39:07and the worrying thing is that
39:09they are not getting better,
39:11rather, they are getting worse.
39:13There is a crisis that seems
39:15that it is not going to touch the bottom.
39:17When we think that things can no longer get worse,
39:19they continue to get worse.
39:21The violence, obviously,
39:23the insecurity is total.
39:25Obviously, the United Nations
39:27has taken Haiti to another level.
39:29I spoke earlier that this is another
39:31moment in the development of the country.
39:33Everything has to be done there.
39:35There is a lot of humanitarian assistance,
39:37a lot of humanitarian assistance.
39:39At this time, for example,
39:41there are one million Haitians
39:43who have been displaced
39:45by the insecurity and violence
39:47that exists in the country.
39:49One million.
39:51From Puerto Príncipe to other places,
39:53outside the country,
39:55internally.
39:57We have to support these people
39:59at the nutritional level,
40:01where they sleep.
40:03Is the cooperation flowing?
40:05It is still flowing,
40:07but it is becoming complicated
40:09due to the issues of air access,
40:11the airports that have been closed.
40:13The geopolitics as well.
40:15Very complicated.
40:17The situation there is very, very difficult.
40:19The main donor is the United States.
40:21Exactly. At the world level,
40:23the humanitarian assistance,
40:25especially,
40:27is being dismantled.
40:29It is being dismantled rapidly.
40:31As we are here
40:33in the Dominican Republic,
40:35society, the government,
40:37we as the United Nations
40:39are worried about the situation
40:41in Haiti in that sense.
40:43The United States is reducing
40:45its funds, closing programs,
40:47including humanitarian assistance.
40:49In Haiti, in the whole world,
40:51this is going to have an impact.
40:53In Haiti, this is going to have
40:55a very significant impact.
40:57The United Nations,
40:59in countries like this,
41:01where the monetary investment
41:03decreases,
41:05has also been decreasing
41:07its prestige and its capacity
41:09to influence the country.
41:11There are those who say that
41:13the one who puts the money
41:15influences more than the one
41:17who does not put anything.
41:19What do you think about
41:21the policy of the United Nations?
41:23What do you think about that?
41:25I would say,
41:27my understanding,
41:29you will have more information
41:31than us, but my understanding
41:33is that there are not many voices.
41:35There are few, but they are very strong.
41:37They speak loudly.
41:39And they have speakers.
41:41Exactly. I think it is important
41:43to point that out.
41:45It is true, obviously,
41:47but we have to make a very clear
41:49effort to demonstrate
41:51our added value.
41:53Because if we no longer have
41:55a reason to be here,
41:57if we no longer contribute
41:59to the development of this country,
42:01if we do not find a new way
42:03and we adjust,
42:05we become irrelevant.
42:07But it is not just about the country.
42:09We saw the pandemic, for example,
42:11and the issue of vaccines.
42:13The United Nations,
42:15designed a plan
42:17to distribute,
42:19to guarantee equity and justice
42:21in the distribution of vaccines
42:23and prevent the pandemic from spreading.
42:25However, the rich countries
42:27sent it to the trash.
42:29That's right.
42:31They did not put anything on it.
42:33And other peripheral countries,
42:35well, they followed the rich countries,
42:37not the WHO and WHO.
42:39That's right. Definitely,
42:41it is a moment ...
42:43a moment of reflection,
42:45to see what we can do in the world.
42:47Obviously, it is a moment
42:49where multilateralism
42:51is weakened by the wars
42:53that are not resolved,
42:55by the issue of what happened during COVID.
42:57And there are many discussions.
42:59Last year they already started
43:01in the General Assembly.
43:03This year they will continue
43:05on how to reform,
43:07what has to happen.
43:09Right now, with what is happening
43:11with the Security Council
43:13on this issue and others,
43:15obviously there is a very clear sign
43:17that something has to change.
43:19So the Secretary General
43:21launched last year
43:23a call for reform
43:25and there is a whole process
43:27to really look seriously
43:29how to reform.
43:31That's a good example,
43:33because they rarely put
43:35the Secretary General
43:37of the United Nations.
43:39It is very complicated.
43:41However, I believe
43:43that we can agree
43:45that we need to agree.
43:47There has to be an instance.
43:49And the United Nations
43:51is still the only space
43:53where all countries have
43:55a voice and a vote.
43:57And it was born to promote peace.
43:59That's right.
44:01So there is a very important challenge.
44:03The system needs to be reformed.
44:05It is not working,
44:07so I think we all have to
44:09make an effort to reform it
44:11so that it serves our purpose.
44:13Very good.
44:15Excellent.
44:17Julia Sánchez,
44:19this space is open
44:21for you and
44:23the representatives
44:25of the other
44:27United Nations agencies.
44:29Thank you very much
44:31for being here.
44:33And to you, ladies and gentlemen,
44:35for tuning in.
44:37We are running out of time,
44:39but tomorrow, Tuesday,
44:41we will be here with you
44:43with another edition of
44:45Telediario Uno de la Ciudad.