Pascal Peña Pérez, especialista en derecho constitucional y temas internacionales manifestó que en la actualidad no es una necesidad modificar la ley monetaria y sus reglamentos.
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00:00It's time to close out this week.
00:06Mabel Estelente starts the show.
00:08As usual, I would like to thank our guest,
00:13who allows us to have an intelligent audience, like you.
00:16Have a great week.
00:18And, let's bring back Jacqueline Morel to Telematutino 11.
00:20Hello Ramon, good morning.
00:22Good morning, Dominican Republic.
00:24It's a pleasure to have you with us on this lovely Monday, March 10.
00:28to be with all of you again, and to give us the opportunity to accompany you at this time of day.
00:34As always, we are going to comment on the news.
00:36Today we have a great guest, Dr. Pascal Peña-Pérez,
00:40an accomplished professional, a specialist in constitutional and international law.
00:46We invite you to be with us this morning.
00:49Well, the legion of admirers of Jaqueline was already worried about her absence,
00:53but I calmed them down and said, no, no, no, it's been a few days and she's coming back,
00:57don't worry, don't worry, rest is necessary from time to time,
01:02you have to stay away from the lights.
01:05Sometimes the change of activity, Ramón, sometimes such rest does not exist,
01:09there are other types of commitments, sometimes of health, family and so on,
01:14but the holidays will come, although they say that vacationing is changing of activity, right?
01:21One comes with the batteries charged.
01:24That's right.
01:25Well, the Attorney General has already dictated her first decrees.
01:30This is what the true independence of the public ministry is.
01:33The President appointed the Attorney General, and sit down together,
01:37he appointed her through the Council of Magistrates, but it was appointed by the President,
01:42and in turn she appointed seven attorneys general,
01:47with quite well-known names, for example, the first substitute
01:52of the Attorney General, who is Rodolfo Espiñeira Ceballos,
01:56very well-known, he had a career of many years in the Central Electoral Board,
02:01and also among the attorneys general is Wilson Manuel Camacho,
02:07who remains in charge of the direction of persecution of corruption.
02:14There is also Pedro Frías Murillo, José Viterbo Cabral González,
02:18Juan Medina de los Santos, Sobrelli Jaques, Violet, and Alba Corona Valerio.
02:26Well, he appointed Espiñeira, you already said it, as the first substitute.
02:32Pedro Frías Murillo will be the second substitute of the Attorney General
02:36and Technical Director of the Department.
02:39Viterbo Cabral is in charge of the General Inspector of the Public Ministry.
02:44And Isis de la Cruz Duarte, current counselor,
02:47her functions were ratified.
02:49Also, the Director of the Illicit Trade Investigation Unit,
02:53Sobrelli Jaques.
02:54Violet will serve as Director of the Privileged Jurisdiction Unit
02:58of Special Procedures.
03:00Juan Medina de los Santos will serve as Director of the Unit
03:02of Civil and Administrative Litigations.
03:05And Alba Corona Valerio will be the National Director of the Attention System.
03:10And Fadulia Rosas will be the Director of the Unit of Dictatorships and Litigations.
03:14And in the PECA, which is the Unit for Administrative Corruption,
03:19the Attorney General, Mirna Ortiz, was appointed.
03:23This forced other movements in the interior.
03:25Yes, yes, there were other internal appointments.
03:28No, no, I don't deserve it.
03:30But the important thing is that the entire team of the Attorney General,
03:33the team is already there.
03:34Now, Ramón, one question.
03:37In addition to the appointment of the adjunct attorneys,
03:41before the constitutional change,
03:44these modifications within the structure of the Public Ministry
03:47were made by the Executive Power.
03:49Yes, yes, before the Constitution,
03:50the Executive Power appointed all prosecutors and attorneys
03:53of the entire country.
03:55That is why it is said that true independence
03:57arises from that Constitution,
03:59because the president chooses, before by decree,
04:02now by the Council, the Attorney General and the adjunct attorneys,
04:04but the rest are appointed by the Attorney General,
04:09by the Council of the Public Ministry,
04:13and the removal, the promotion, the transfer, etc.
04:17Everything is done by an internal governance team.
04:21Well, that's good, because what they criticized at the time,
04:23the election of Jenny Berenice, in the sense that, well,
04:26the president proposed it and the Council ratified it.
04:29And we already see what the composition of the Council is,
04:31and really what the votes would be loyal
04:33to the President of the Republic.
04:35And she was elected unanimously.
04:37That is to say, there was no one who said anything against
04:40Jenny Berenice or objected to her appointment.
04:43And the fact that she can, as head of the Public Ministry,
04:46make these appointments based on the merits
04:50and based on what she thinks
04:52of what the team that accompanies her should be,
04:53to do the work that she intends to do
04:55and the commitment that she has assumed,
04:57well, then, there we see that there are really news.
05:00Just as there was unanimity in the Council,
05:02there was unanimity in El País Salvo,
05:04in certain sectors of the PLD,
05:06but she comes from a career.
05:08She started as a paralegal.
05:10She was an assistant to Abel Martínez in Santiago.
05:14And she was a prosecutor in Santiago as well.
05:15She was a prosecutor in Santiago,
05:16appointed by Leónel Fernández when Leónel Fernández was appointed.
05:19When she was barely 27 years old.
05:21Young.
05:22Then she was a prosecutor in the district,
05:24prosecutor of the Court of Appeal.
05:26She was in charge of the...
05:28That is to say, she has made a career.
05:30And that is what is wanted.
05:31And all those who were appointed there,
05:34including the seven who were appointed,
05:36President Abinader, five were of the career.
05:39And that is very good, that they are people of the career.
05:42What is expected is that there is more budget
05:45so that the Public Ministry can develop
05:48and can investigate with greater instruments.
05:52Thus, there is no known party link
05:54that also ratifies the commitment
05:56that they are not from the political parties.
05:58On the other hand, there are some declarations
06:00from the monetary authority
06:01referring to the issue of the exchange rate
06:04that has been somewhat nervous, altered in recent months.
06:09They say that this is due to seasonal phenomena
06:13and global uncertainty.
06:14The seasonal phenomena has always been attributed to that,
06:17that at the beginning of the year, at the end of the year,
06:20due to inventory repositioning.
06:21But the reality is that in the last 15 years
06:24the exchange rate has only varied by 3%.
06:28Not now.
06:29Now, for example, on December 23,
06:32the exchange rate was 58.25.
06:34In March, it is already almost 163, 8%.
06:40I give you, I recognize that there is no doubt
06:45that there is global uncertainty
06:47because of Trump's policies.
06:49But there is also local uncertainty.
06:51And when there is local uncertainty,
06:53what happens is that people who have pesos
06:57accumulate dollars or save in dollars
07:00or people who have savings in pesos
07:02convert them into dollars as a form of protection.
07:06That is normal when there is an issue of uncertainty
07:10in economic agents.
07:11Well, Ramón, look, those of us who earn in pesos
07:14are not happy when the exchange rate rises.
07:17Of course, if you earn in dollars,
07:19that does not affect you.
07:20But the vast majority of the Dominican population
07:22who earns in pesos,
07:24every time there is a variation in the exchange rate of the dollar
07:27and the prices go up,
07:28then it does affect them.
07:30Now, is the central bank necessarily responsible
07:34for these fluctuations?
07:37Let's be fair.
07:38Although that variation,
07:40and although I don't like the dollar going up,
07:42which you said was 3% in the last 15 years,
07:45listen to me, we had not had an international situation
07:48as turbulent as the one we have had in recent years.
07:51Notice that after COVID,
07:54the issue of Russia with Ukraine
07:56and other geopolitical factors
07:58have put the world,
08:01in a certain way, some say, upside down.
08:04And obviously, Trump's election in the United States
08:07has generated uncertainty,
08:09not only in the United States,
08:11it has generated it in Europe,
08:12and all over the world.
08:13And the Dominican Republic is no exception.
08:15Now, we will have to see
08:17the management of the monetary authorities
08:20and what comes from now on,
08:21according to how they will impact
08:24the economic measures taken in the United States
08:26by the North American president
08:28and by other variables.
08:30The central bank has done what it has had to do,
08:31inject currencies into the exchange market.
08:35For example, last year,
08:38the international reserves decreased by $2 billion.
08:42The Central Bank report says
08:44that now we are at $14 billion,
08:46but it was because in January,
08:47the government placed sovereign bonds,
08:50which it does not need,
08:51but it did it to help the central bank,
08:54and that money is there in the central bank.
08:57At some point, the government will need it
08:58in pesos or dollars, but it strengthens you.
09:01There is also the phenomenon
09:03of interest rates that do not go down.
09:04That is, we have a double problem there
09:08that is not easy to manage,
09:11because if you want to lower the interest rate,
09:14you have to inject liquidity into the economy,
09:16but then the exchange rate goes.
09:18It is a kind of balance
09:20between the interest rate and the exchange rate.
09:23Fortunately, the country has matured.
09:25Before, when the exchange rate went up,
09:27the press told you every day,
09:28and the economists, however,
09:30the press has been very careful with this issue,
09:34and I rarely had the press talking to you
09:36about the increase in the exchange rate,
09:38even if it is increasing.
09:39Yes, in fact, I remember that several years ago,
09:43I will not remember the years,
09:44but you remember very well,
09:45where a campaign was made
09:48precisely to pressure
09:50that the exchange rate would go up
09:51and that people would become dollarized,
09:53and that created a level of uncertainty
09:55that certainly had an impact.
09:57It is good that we have matured in that sense
09:59and we are seeing things more calmly.
10:01And we have to see it,
10:02because after all, you take a bill,
10:04and a bill is a paper,
10:05the dollar is a paper.
10:07Where is the value of the dollar?
10:09In the confidence that people have.
10:11Where is the value of the peso?
10:12In the confidence that people have.
10:14Because in the end,
10:15before, money was valued by gold,
10:18but not anymore,
10:19it is a paper that is printed.
10:21On the other hand, there is a case
10:23of an Indian tourist
10:25who lives in the United States,
10:27who apparently drowned.
10:30The authorities are acting on this,
10:33because this type of case has to be clarified.
10:35Her name is Sudhishka Kunanki.
10:39Look how beautiful, young girl.
10:41A 21-year-old young girl,
10:42they were on the beach at 4 in the morning,
10:44in a resort,
10:46it seems that they went to swim.
10:48But this type of thing has to be clarified,
10:50because this is news that is all over the world.
10:53Let's remember that on one occasion,
10:55due to the death of some North American tourists,
10:58tourism fell in the Dominican Republic,
11:01because tourism is very good,
11:03but it is very delicate.
11:05Because of any mishap of this type,
11:07the hotel is not to blame,
11:08the country is not to blame,
11:09but we have to define what happened,
11:13and fortunately she was accompanied
11:15by a group of friends
11:18who were staying here in the Dominican Republic.
11:21Well, they have to give explanations to the friends,
11:24and it seems that there was a particular friend
11:26who stayed with her,
11:28who must give greater explanations.
11:30The national police have said that,
11:32in coordination with the public ministry,
11:34they have carried out extensive investigations and searches.
11:37This young woman
11:39lived in the United States,
11:41of Indian or Indian origin,
11:43and the institution says that,
11:45upon learning of the situation,
11:47last Friday,
11:49via telephone,
11:51by the United States Embassy in the country,
11:53an exhaustive search has begun
11:55for air, sea and land
11:57in the entire periphery and surrounding areas,
11:59through the use of drones,
12:01helicopters,
12:03buses, boats, canine units
12:05and human personnel and other technologies.
12:07Therefore,
12:09unfortunately,
12:11they have to give an answer, Ramón.
12:13Unfortunately, she drowned.
12:15Let them find the body,
12:17anyone drowns.
12:19But if she disappears,
12:21and she left no trace,
12:23and there are suspicions of another type,
12:25then yes, that affects,
12:27in a way, the image,
12:29although no country can guarantee
12:31the personal management of a tourist,
12:33and what she does with her,
12:35how she behaves, and so on.
12:38That cannot be done,
12:40but it can be guaranteed
12:42that if she unfortunately dies,
12:44that all the necessary support is given
12:46to rescue her body as it should be.
12:48On the other hand, in Canada,
12:50at another time, one was not aware of Canada,
12:52but with the issue of aranceles,
12:54one has to be aware of all the countries of the world,
12:56Justin Trudeau resigned
12:58because his government
13:00weakened,
13:02and it began with the issue of migration,
13:04he was very flexible with migration,
13:06and today the peoples
13:08are very aware of this type of thing,
13:10but he was also losing credibility,
13:12and in those countries
13:14people give up.
13:16But he was elected
13:18leader of the party,
13:20with all the possibilities of winning,
13:22an economist called Mark Carney,
13:24with good credentials,
13:26he was governor of the Central Bank
13:28of Canada in 2008,
13:30when the financial crisis happened,
13:32and it is said that he did very well.
13:34Although he has British nationality,
13:36he was president
13:38of the Central Bank of England,
13:40and the pandemic hit him.
13:42It seems that the recipe is
13:44facing Trump,
13:46you have an economist,
13:48who as a good central banker
13:50must have a very calm head
13:52to be able to deal
13:54with everything that comes to Canada,
13:56because aranceles
13:58and difficult situations
14:00come to him
14:02Well, let's see
14:04and wish the best of luck
14:06to Mark Carney,
14:08who has a very high responsibility,
14:10and the fact that he has come out
14:12in the institutions
14:14where he has worked
14:16has allowed him
14:18to maintain a prestige,
14:20we will have to see if this
14:22combines with real politics,
14:24because he is not a politician,
14:26that's the point,
14:28so that he knows how to handle
14:31the best wishes for Canada,
14:33which is very important
14:35for the Dominican Republic,
14:37not only in terms of the number
14:39of tourists who visit our country,
14:41that country of Canada,
14:43but also the investments
14:45that it has,
14:47and that it makes every year
14:49in the Dominican Republic.
14:51Many people think that the biggest
14:53investor is Spain, and it is Canada,
14:55and the second emitting country
14:57of tourists is Canada,
14:59who came to the Dominican Republic.
15:01Don't miss the interview
15:03with Dr. Pascal Peña-Pérez,
15:05and we forgot at the beginning
15:07the death of the merenguero
15:09Diomedes Núñez,
15:11a boy who made himself
15:13what he was, a musician,
15:15a trumpeter
15:17and percussionist,
15:19he was in several orchestras,
15:21but he stood out as a vocalist
15:23and founded
15:25my organization.
15:27I had the opportunity to meet him
15:29when I was in Color Vision,
15:31and he was the one who played
15:33in the 15 years of Ana Patricia,
15:35my eldest daughter,
15:37he was a boy,
15:39at that time he was 20 or 21 years old,
15:41and he already had his orchestra,
15:43but he had many health problems
15:45throughout his life,
15:47and unfortunately he died
15:49on the weekend.
15:51Well, may our condolences
15:53to his family and friends rest in peace.
15:56Dr. Pascal Peña-Pérez
15:58is a person who has an impressive
16:00curriculum in different areas,
16:02especially in the international area,
16:04and with him we are going to start
16:06talking about international issues,
16:08but we are also going to talk
16:10about local issues.
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17:01The Telematus interview has
17:03important people, and to discuss important issues
17:05we have Dr. Pascal Peña-Pérez,
17:07he is a lawyer,
17:09he has a master's degree in economic regulation,
17:11a master's degree in constitutional law,
17:13he has a doctorate
17:15in the United States of Madrid
17:17in international law and international relations,
17:19relatively young,
17:21he has a very heavy curriculum.
17:23Good morning Pascal, and thank you for accepting
17:25the invitation.
17:27Hello, good morning.
17:29It's a pleasure to be here with you.
17:31And we are going to talk about your experience
17:33in the field of international law
17:35and international relations,
17:37especially because of Trump's policy
17:39that has impacted
17:41and has the world on its feet,
17:43including the United States.
17:45We have seen how,
17:47even when there is a NAFTA,
17:49a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico,
17:51which he himself modified,
17:53well, one day he announces
17:55tariffs, then he postpones them,
17:57he has taken a series of measures,
17:59luckily in the United States there are
18:01federal judges who have taken some of those measures,
18:03but as an expert
18:05in international law,
18:07how do you analyze
18:09that Trump policy
18:11in terms of tariffs and the impact
18:13on world order?
18:15Well, in that case
18:17you have to separate two things.
18:19In the first term,
18:21talk about the internal measures taken,
18:23migratory measures, among other things,
18:25right? Denominating
18:27the Gulf of Mexico
18:29as the Gulf of America, which
18:31internally can be, and another is
18:33regarding the measures
18:35that are being taken
18:37around the world.
18:39And by that I mean, of course, the measures
18:41as you are mentioning, the issue of tariffs,
18:43but also the Panama Canal,
18:45Israel, among other issues.
18:47Specifically, in relation to
18:49the issue of tariffs,
18:51you have to highlight something, you very well just
18:53introduced it, there is an issue
18:55of international agreements
18:57that regulate everything
18:59related to tariffs.
19:01In this case, if we have
19:03this agreement between Canada,
19:05Mexico and the United States,
19:07which has been
19:09pampered by Trump in his first
19:11government, generated
19:13the
19:15impact
19:17in its economy through
19:19the modification of certain
19:21tariffs, the economic agreement
19:23was modified in the interest
19:25of the United States.
19:27Now the same is happening.
19:29The issue is that now,
19:31notice how it has been, and this will
19:33generate throughout the world
19:35an impact, a very important
19:37commercial war, because
19:39despite the fact that tariffs are
19:41unilaterally regulated,
19:43there is not currently
19:45an organization that can
19:47judge, that can sanction
19:49the United States, and you will tell me,
19:51but there could be
19:53thought, there is no
19:55OMC, OMC which is the
19:57World Trade Organization, the World Trade Organization
19:59is the organization of alternative
20:01conflict resolution, or conflict
20:03resolution in matters of commercial agreements.
20:05But what happens? Since the year
20:072019, the United States has prevented
20:09the renewal
20:11of the group of
20:13panel of judges. Therefore,
20:15all the other countries
20:17that make up the
20:19World Trade Organization, have
20:21had to sign a partial agreement
20:23so that
20:25all their commercial conflicts
20:27can be directed until
20:29the panel is formally
20:31formed.
20:33What does this mean? That any
20:35country, in this case Canada, or
20:37Mexico,
20:39that you want to
20:41claim, does not have
20:43any body where to do it.
20:45Where to do it, ok.
20:47Well, several questions. Every day
20:49measures are taken
20:51in the United States, which
20:53have an impact not only in that country, but also
20:55in the world.
20:57When we talk about tariffs,
20:59we talk about taxes
21:01on products that enter a country,
21:03and if those taxes are increased,
21:05obviously that
21:07creates tensions and
21:09increases, well,
21:11changes the economic dynamics a little,
21:13but it also affects the population because
21:15products go up in price.
21:17In the case of the Dominican Republic,
21:19the governor of the Central Bank says today
21:21that global uncertainty
21:23affects the exchange rate of the dollar.
21:25That uncertainty
21:27that we are experiencing globally,
21:29you could say
21:31that it is perhaps the strongest
21:33that we have had in recent years.
21:35For all the factors, not only the United States,
21:37but of the others you mentioned.
21:39Yes, of course. Evidently,
21:41COVID was a
21:43rather delicate moment
21:45worldwide. Now,
21:47with respect to measures,
21:49the relationship between the United States,
21:51the relationship between countries, possibly yes.
21:53This uncertainty, and I want to
21:55remember that Trump barely
21:57has a month.
21:59Not even three months.
22:0120 January. Let's calculate.
22:03A month and a half,
22:05maybe a month and three weeks.
22:07And it has generated, as you very well comment,
22:09a lot of uncertainty.
22:11This uncertainty can impact
22:13the Dominican Republic in several aspects.
22:15We already mentioned tourism, but also
22:17investments, but also
22:19the possibility that
22:21the investments
22:23that
22:25we had perhaps
22:27in the country,
22:29in our income, etc.,
22:31can impact the country
22:33in a negative way.
22:35A lot has been said, a lot has been said
22:37about the investments that can be generated
22:39for rare earths,
22:41and the collaboration of the United States
22:43with the Dominican Republic in that sense.
22:45But they are expectations.
22:47That's right. I want to emphasize.
22:49There is no certainty.
22:51And there is no certainty because
22:53studies are still being done to determine
22:55the exact amount of rare earths that exist
22:57in the Dominican Republic now.
22:59This being real,
23:01as it has been proposed,
23:03this will be something
23:05extremely relevant for the country.
23:07But the country also bet on nearshoring.
23:09Ito Bitsono has been working on that
23:11and in April they are going to announce
23:13a whole strategy.
23:15But it seems very difficult
23:17that at this time no North American investor
23:19invests outside the United States.
23:21Because what Trump wants
23:23is to invest in the United States.
23:25And there you touch on an extremely
23:27interesting point.
23:29Because at the end of last week
23:31Trump sent
23:33or requested
23:35that the law
23:37that gave incentives
23:39regarding semiconductors
23:41and that generated
23:43investment,
23:45you just said it,
23:47generated investment
23:49within the United States,
23:51but foreign companies for the development
23:53of semiconductors were derogated
23:55or the financing was limited.
23:57This has a direct and punctual impact
23:59on the Dominican Republic
24:01for what you are commenting.
24:03A whole strategy had been created
24:05on this issue.
24:07It seems to me
24:09that it is still too early.
24:11You refer to nearshoring.
24:13I don't like to talk about nearshoring.
24:15I think that in the case of the United States
24:17I like to talk about ally-shoring or friend-shoring.
24:19Let's translate that
24:21Nearshoring,
24:23of course, of course,
24:25and I explain very briefly.
24:27Nearshoring is when,
24:29and the translation is,
24:31the approach to our costs.
24:33When we bring our country,
24:35when they approach the corresponding country,
24:37investment.
24:39And this is for a geographical issue,
24:41a geolocation that allows
24:43efficiency, right?
24:45Now, ally-shoring or friend-shoring,
24:47And that the costs are lower,
24:49and obviously with
24:51unprofitable benefits,
24:53unemployment, etc.
24:55But to talk about friend-shoring or ally-shoring
24:57is to think that a country
24:59is approaching another
25:01not only for
25:03this
25:05little distance
25:07between territories,
25:09etc., but because
25:11it goes according to the policy
25:13of the corresponding country.
25:15They are friends.
25:17Ally-shoring
25:19is a country
25:21friendly to Trump's policy.
25:23In this case, the Dominican Republic
25:25without a doubt, and we saw this with the visit
25:27of Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio
25:29on this first visit,
25:31the first trip he made,
25:33applauded us
25:35and applauded as a country.
25:37And he spoke of semiconductors.
25:39Yes, but
25:41he spoke of semiconductors.
25:43And this is
25:45very important to highlight.
25:47He spoke of semiconductors.
25:49He spoke of the support
25:51to migratory policy,
25:53in this case, the issue of
25:55financing
25:57of the multinational force
25:59that is in
26:01Haiti,
26:03and that kind of thing.
26:05But who makes the decisions
26:07formally,
26:09through the executive orders,
26:11which are technically decrees,
26:13is President Trump.
26:15So, we have to see if
26:17from this generality,
26:19which is
26:21modifying
26:23the financing project that
26:25currently exists, if there will be some kind
26:27of exception
26:29with respect to the Dominican Republic.
26:31We have to see.
26:33In our case,
26:35what would happen
26:37as an international expert?
26:39It is always said
26:41that Latin American countries
26:43do not have a strategy
26:45or look to the future.
26:47It is because the world is changing so much
26:49and there is even talk of a weakness in Europe.
26:51And the countries
26:53are measuring how to face
26:55the reality that we have.
26:57In the case of the Dominican Republic,
26:59what should we do
27:01in the face of these events?
27:03Look, your question is very interesting,
27:05because it allows us
27:07to consider
27:09two situations.
27:11The first is, should we, as a country,
27:13look for options,
27:15approach the European Union,
27:17strengthen relations with China?
27:19Or should we,
27:21based on this historical relationship,
27:23on these plans
27:25that have been carried out
27:27during these almost five years
27:29of government,
27:31of President Abinader,
27:33continue to promote
27:35and take care of this relationship?
27:37And I make a parenthesis,
27:39is it enough for Rubio to tell us
27:41that we are doing well?
27:43Or do we have to make a strategy for the future?
27:45Without a doubt, we have to do it.
27:47It has been done,
27:49and I think we have to continue
27:51working on what is the strategy
27:53of the Dominican Republic in the United States.
27:55The American policy
27:57and our foreign policy.
27:59Remember that the United States
28:01is our second commercial partner.
28:03I always like to emphasize
28:05our neighbor Haiti.
28:07As a result of this,
28:09without a doubt,
28:11talking about the United States
28:13is an essential component
28:15for the economy of the Dominican Republic.
28:17And as some say, it is not only the policy
28:19that speaks, but the economy
28:21in front of a country.
28:23And it is what maintains stability,
28:25it is what maintains security,
28:27it is what motivates investors
28:29to come to the Dominican Republic
28:31to put their money.
28:33We have to continue
28:35promoting in some way
28:37the relationship with the United States.
28:39However, we must also
28:41look for where to place our products.
28:43I mean,
28:45we have countries like
28:47in general,
28:49the European Union,
28:51we have Spain and others,
28:53where what is the banana,
28:55what is the cocoa and this type of agricultural products
28:57have a great demand.
28:59So we have to bet on that.
29:01We have to be very careful
29:03because getting closer to China
29:05can be seen
29:07as a threat.
29:09But the President
29:11took a very early distance.
29:13From the first day.
29:15And I must confess
29:17that when
29:19in the first
29:21Trump administration,
29:23when he came out
29:25and we saw
29:27that Biden was going to enter,
29:29Biden's speech was a little more
29:31nuanced with respect to China.
29:33In practice, it ended up being
29:35just as strong.
29:37We must emphasize something.
29:39I think Trump has a speech
29:41a little less delicate,
29:43less diplomatic.
29:45But foreign policy,
29:47except for some topics,
29:49a little delicate, human rights issues,
29:51gender ideology issues
29:53and that kind of thing,
29:55I think it has changed,
29:57but it maintains traditional foreign policy.
29:59However,
30:01Doctor,
30:03let's remember that before Rubio
30:05came to the Dominican Republic,
30:07he made some statements
30:09and without anyone asking, he said
30:11that the Dominican Republic let itself be influenced
30:13at the time by Panama
30:15to break the relationship
30:17with Taiwan
30:19and make diplomatic relations with China.
30:21That is, a reminder
30:23and a few words
30:25but you have to read carefully.
30:27That's right, but then,
30:29before Congress, at the time of his
30:31ratification, he highlighted that
30:33the Dominican Republic was one
30:35of the few countries that were doing things
30:37well.
30:39In fact, it's a quote.
30:41We are doing things well.
30:43On the weekend,
30:45the language between China and the United States
30:47was aggravated, because not only was there
30:49talk of commercial war, but of war.
30:51And even
30:53the Secretary of Defense of the United States
30:55said that we are preparing.
30:57There is an author called Graham Allison
30:59who says, you have to know him,
31:01that a war between the United States
31:03and China is inevitable because of
31:05the trap of Tucsid.
31:07Will it remain a commercial war?
31:09I think that...
31:11Again, another very good question.
31:13I think that at this time,
31:15yes. In a few years,
31:17we could see
31:19that it will generate
31:21something like this,
31:23and maybe doing this simile
31:25is a little risky,
31:27but something like what happened with the Cold War.
31:29I mean that
31:31we could be seeing
31:33countries allying themselves
31:35to a people, in this case the United States,
31:37and other countries allying themselves
31:39to China. And here I am not necessarily
31:41talking about countries
31:43that go against the United States,
31:45but since there is no
31:47European Union, for example,
31:49we could find, maybe
31:51in China, an ally
31:53regarding the investment, considering that
31:55the European Union has said
31:57clearly that it requires,
31:59and that is why I say
32:01that we could be seeing something like
32:03the Cold War, that it must
32:05double
32:07the investment in
32:09weapons. And that is because
32:11the United States
32:13is already threatening
32:15to move away from
32:17NATO. This would imply
32:19that the European Union
32:21must be considered
32:23as a main actor
32:25that can generate, in fact, some leadership
32:27at the international level, but that
32:29requires military force.
32:31Let's take a short break.
32:33The conversation with Dr. Pascal Peña-Pérez is very interesting.
32:35We have another topic of interest.
32:47We have another topic of interest.
32:49We have another topic of interest.
32:51We have another topic of interest.
32:53We have another topic of interest.
32:55We have another topic of interest.
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33:41We have another topic of interest.
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34:01We have another topic of interest.
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34:19We have another topic of interest.
34:21We have another topic of interest.
34:23We have another topic of interest.
34:25We have another topic of interest.
34:27We have another topic of interest.
34:29We have another topic of interest.
34:31We have another topic of interest.
34:33We have another topic of interest.
34:35We have another topic of interest.
34:37We have another topic of interest.
34:39Earlier in the newspaper there was talk about
34:42modifying the labor code,
34:44incentives to develop certain technologies,
34:51we've even talked about – we'll talk about this later –
34:53maybe semiconductors,
34:55we'll see how that is going,
34:57the subject of investments,
34:59there's a mining law project out there,
35:01among other things.
35:03We have to bet on investment and production
35:05in the Dominican Republic.
35:07Pascaltuere is also a specialist in economic regulation, and I'm going to the monetary, financial and exchange part.
35:15We have a code, a monetary law from 1991, and regulations that were produced as a result of the financial crisis between 2004 and 2007.
35:26The world has changed, the financial system has become more complex.
35:30Does the monetary law and its regulations deserve a revision, or can the country still continue with that framework?
35:37Look, I think that in general, and you have made reference to something very important,
35:43which is that we have a law from 2001, but from that law from 2001, 173,
35:53we had, at the same time, the ability to generate in the law what is the regulatory faculty.
36:00That regulatory faculty has allowed, along with other institutions of the state,
36:06not only to speak of the Monetary and Financial Board, of the Bank Superintendent, of the Central Bank,
36:13but that in the administrative law and in the state organization,
36:18it is allowed, through the regulatory faculty, to adjust, to interpret measures and to create,
36:25to adjust the order according to the needs.
36:28I think that today, yes, there may be aspects that can be modified,
36:35but in general, all this regulation that has been born throughout all these years
36:43has allowed the monetary and financial system to remain quite strong.
36:52I think we have been seeing it from all these moments that the Dominican Republic has lived
37:00and that have even been delicate moments, as we saw with COVID, among other things.
37:05So, I think that in general, this modification is not a necessity today.
37:11I think there are other laws that can be important.
37:17I already mentioned the labor code.
37:20I am already talking, perhaps, about certain incentive laws, such as the franca zone.
37:26I am talking about border development.
37:29Perhaps looking for other legal regimes to generate more agricultural production in the Dominican Republic.
37:36Perhaps a modification of the general law of telecommunications.
37:40Perhaps the modification of a general law of defense of competition.
37:45These are, I think, legal frameworks that require, yes, a review,
37:51at least a look over these years in the government.
37:57Pascal, in 2020, you were appointed to the Academy of the Council of Economic and Social Development of Santo Domingo
38:05as its first academic director.
38:08Here it is said that things are not discussed, that people do not participate, that they are not investigated.
38:13And precisely, the idea was to do a job that would raise the level of the debate
38:22and that people participate in academic discussions and a contribution in that sense.
38:27How was that experience? How has that experience been?
38:30How has that experience been?
38:31Thank God, we continue to provide, from the Council of Economic and Social Development of Santo Domingo,
38:37the CODES. The CODES is an association of civil society that has managed to generate agreements
38:45with various institutions of the state and has promoted, as you very well just indicated,
38:52a kind of space to generate debates and, in fact, promote high-level discussions.
39:02Even with the recent elections, we were the ones who managed, through television,
39:14to broadcast what were the electoral debates.
39:17Only the presidential, sorry, only the presidential, we did not broadcast,
39:23but we were the first to do it and we generated almost 18 debates.
39:27And so there have been discussions, in fact, we have even promoted law projects,
39:31such as school bullying, among others.
39:34The idea, as I was saying, of the CODES is to promote development
39:40and, in fact, we have also created specific projects.
39:44We, on the banks of the Zama River, have created a very nice project with Canada Funds,
39:52where we have co-operated with a group of women, almost a hundred and something women,
39:57to clean the banks of the Zama River.
40:00Women who were not working, women who did not have any kind of social activity
40:07and who already have income with this.
40:10So, as I say, it is an interesting topic and it is good that you have placed it as a topic.
40:15And how has the CODES taken care, after what happened with USAID
40:21and some institutions that have great prestige in the Dominican Republic
40:25and that have been questioned for receiving those funds,
40:28and not offering, some say, the due transparency in which those funds were used?
40:35Where do your funds come from?
40:38And seen in the past experience, what to do in addition to what you are doing
40:43so that if there is ever an investigation, they are not questioned?
40:47Yes, we have not received funds from USAID.
40:50We would still have done it.
40:53Our documents have been there, clear and transparent.
40:59I do want to emphasize something.
41:02There are institutions in civil society that have still received funds.
41:08Yes, but it has nothing wrong with receiving funds and doing a job.
41:11Transparency, I think, is what corresponds.
41:15There have been polarized opinions on this issue.
41:19We, personally and as an institution,
41:23what we believe is that the State requires, needs,
41:27greater and better institutions of civil society.
41:33Why?
41:35Because the State, unfortunately, does not have enough transparency.
41:40I believe that the institutions of civil society have had for many years
41:45to meet these shortcomings.
41:48So, nothing, what we do, and here I want to emphasize,
41:52we finance ourselves with contributions from companies and individuals.
41:57Local.
41:58Yes, local.
41:59So far, local.
42:00Well, and as I mentioned, from Fundo Canada at the time,
42:04who also collaborated on this project related to the riverbed of the Sama River.
42:10And we are, of course, open to generating various projects that go for the country.
42:18Pascal, the institution has been a great goal.
42:21We have advanced, but apparently we have not advanced enough,
42:25and perhaps that is one of the obstacles,
42:27so that there is greater foreign investment,
42:29so that there is investment in technology.
42:31What is still missing?
42:33You just said it.
42:35You just said it.
42:37I believe that the Dominican Republic requires,
42:39not only to adjust, we talked about it a moment ago,
42:42to adjust perhaps a legal framework,
42:45and it has been doing it little by little,
42:48but for that you have to convince sectors.
42:51Convince sectors that have been
42:56that have been cauterized perhaps in a kind of podium,
43:02in a kind of situation in which they thought that it could not be modified.
43:12And I'm talking about certain unions,
43:14I'm talking about certain business sectors,
43:18I'm talking about certain social sectors,
43:22and we must all give in.
43:24But at the same time, we need to generate greater institutionality,
43:28and I believe that this institutionality is due,
43:31first, to political parties,
43:34and political parties must make an agreement.
43:37I believe that the countries that have been developing over time,
43:43there has been an agreement between political parties,
43:46between the governing forces,
43:48for what?
43:49To generate a long-term change.
43:51We can't be thinking in four years, in eight years,
43:54we can't be thinking about re-elections,
43:56we must think as a country.
43:58And as a country, investment, of course,
44:01security, and I'm talking here about public security,
44:05I'm talking about health, I'm talking about multiple issues,
44:09and of course, for that you need income.
44:12And those incomes, without a doubt,
44:14we are not generating them in our own way,
44:18we need investment, and for that, foreign investment.
44:21But we also fall into the failed fiscal reform,
44:24in the anxiety of greater resources,
44:26so that the public debt does not continue to increase,
44:29nor that 25% more of the tax revenue
44:33is dedicated to the payment of interests.
44:35Yes, but at the same time, I think about the recovery efficiency,
44:39and in that recovery efficiency, where perhaps,
44:42if the State focuses,
44:44if the General Directorate of Internal Taxes,
44:46with the tariffs, focuses on
44:49adequately charging the corresponding sectors,
44:52and with the firmness that it requires,
44:56perhaps the fiscal reform could be,
44:59without a doubt, it is needed,
45:01but it could be less...
45:05Grave.
45:06Grave.
45:07Well, the President of the Modern Revolutionary Party,
45:10José Ignacio Paliza,
45:12Minister of the Presidency,
45:14has said that this issue is buried,
45:16he said on the weekend.
45:18That is, that this issue is not going to be touched on in this quatrain.
45:22And you talked about convincing sectors,
45:25and how about the issue of credibility and strengthening...
45:28Well, you already said institutional strengthening,
45:30but that political parties, starting with the one that governs us,
45:34radiate more credibility,
45:36so that there is no need to convince sectors,
45:39but to do things,
45:41and that people are convinced
45:43that they are making the best decisions for the country.
45:46Without leaving behind the issue of trying to find a consensus,
45:49obviously, not dictatorially.
45:51Yes, of course.
45:52If we see it from a political perspective,
45:54let's remember that parties have their ideologies,
45:59here, unlike other countries,
46:03here we don't have a left and we don't have a right, right?
46:06But yes, we can think that they do,
46:10but they don't have it.
46:12Now, those ideologies go along,
46:16I emphasize again what I said at the beginning,
46:20they go along, of course, to the economic interests
46:24for which they manage to position themselves in the government, no.
46:31And here I want to emphasize,
46:32regardless of whether it has been the PRM,
46:35whether it has been the PLD,
46:36for example,
46:37the relations with the United States have always been the same.
46:40It doesn't matter if it has been the Democratic Party
46:42or the Republican Party who has won,
46:45we have as a country a policy that has been quite clear.
46:51You mentioned, well, but what about the institutional issue?
46:56We must, I mean as a state,
46:59talk to the population.
47:01I believe that the best convincing is through facts and actions.
47:06Exactly, I mean the generation of credibility and confidence.
47:08The problem is that today there is a generation
47:13that believes that what is seen on social media is everything.
47:17And it worries me a little
47:21that excessive advertising generates
47:24conviction in the population of some things.
47:27I believe that the government of President Abinader,
47:31specifically speaking of some issues,
47:33for example, like foreign policy,
47:35I believe that regardless of whether there have been criticisms,
47:38it has been good.
47:40If we think, for example, about that,
47:42I mean the issue of institutionality,
47:44I mean the issue of some firm measures
47:47regarding, for example, Haiti,
47:50I mean the issue of generating,
47:54through the career of the foreign service,
48:00formally generating corresponding measures.
48:05But also, if we think about it from the monetary and financial policy,
48:09gentlemen, look how within these 20 years,
48:13more than 20 years that Mr. Valdez-Albizu has had,
48:18he has generated some stability,
48:20and this has been recognized internationally.
48:22So I believe that there are issues that need to be applauded,
48:26that need to be recognized.
48:28There are others that have, gentlemen,
48:31to speak of public security,
48:34to speak of modification of what is the national police,
48:38to speak, for example, of course, of labor reform,
48:41to speak of taxes,
48:43that is an issue that in the next few years will not be resolved.
48:46And the electric neither.
48:48And of course, and the electric neither.
48:50So they are not going to be resolved.
48:52No, in the next three years, that is impossible.
48:55That's why I was talking.
48:56This is an issue that the parties have to agree on
48:59to make a country plan for the next 8, 12 years.
49:04Pascal Peña-Pérez, tremendous debut.
49:08Thank you very much.
49:10And we wait for you frequently.
49:12Thank you very much.
49:13I am here at your service.
49:14Thank you very much.
49:15We are going to commercialize, dear viewers,
49:17the final stretch of Telematutino 11.
49:25Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
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