National Protest Day a huge success!

The National Protest Day(Strike to some, civil unrest to others)turned out to be a huge success after all. From my vantage point here in midtown Santo Domingo(Poligono Central) the whole area is semiparalized. Businesses are mostly closed or not selling.

In general, from captions on CDN news and reports from friends in all neighborhoods, the city is closed down for business. Those who are opened have reported spotty sales or no activity.

El Conde Street is closed to business.Except for a few eateries there is no activity at all there, with the exception of the Strike Coordinating Board which decided to have their central point of gathering at Independencia Park, where El Conde Street begins. A march to the National Palace was expected, but as a result of Hipolito Mejias surrender, with his decision to stop the 20% increase in electricity, the strikers decided that a march was not needed, since the protest turned out to be more successful than expected and practicly became a strike by the peoples own choice.

Hipolito Mejia and the Power Distributors Edesur and Edenorte have been handed a major defeat by the people, who were just plain tired of their oppressive-repressive tactics against the poor and the middle-class.

Vehicle traffic is so slow, that some drivers are taking advantage and doing some easy driving around the boulevards. There were not serious problems or reports of any violence so far and the hooded rioters seen in small town protests in the last 30 days were absent. No guns were shotor cars burned so far.

It is hard to tell wether the evening will bring any surprises, but it appears the whole thing will be peaceful.

Normal day here. Stores moving, streets full, traffic moving normally.

Lets see if the government doesnt double bill people, or sneak in the increase gradually, or for that matter tell people that in order to increase the service, rates must be increased.

Just another thing to think about when doing business in the DR.

TW.
You are making a big scandal out this protest day, here in Canada we had better protest days than in your pitiful little island.

Just put 5 or 7 feet of fresh snow and you won't see a colmado selling Red Cap Ale beer.

A victory for the poor and middle class---are you kidding.
I don't know any poor dominicans who are paying electicity at all, let alone a bill in excees of 1,500p a month---i don't know any middle class dominicans whose monthly residential rate exceeds 1500.
A victory for the rich like yourself for whom the increase would have been a drop in the bucket
Contrary to what meija says, this protest was aimed at the tax increases that the poor feel and the political corruption that rapes this country
If this day ends without any violence, then it will indeed be a victory for the rich and powerful

Sosua is in a world of its own. Nothing can stop Sosua from having fun and being in the streets except and earthquake, a hurricane or its roads being dug up by Codetel never to be refilled again.

When I meant success, it was meant in the sense of what the protest organizers set out to achieve. Their goal was to irritate Hipolito Mejia and his government and use this as a trial balloon for a future general strike.

We know for a fact that the $1500 was an electricity consumption sum mostly for middle class and up people. However, it would hurt poor people because all businesses were going to have the government subsidy of electricity eliminated and that 20% increase in the costs to small as well as large businesses was going to get passed along to all consumers alike, rich or poor.

In terms of all their other demands, they did not get anything more. However, the success is the message that the people have given to the PRD government, that if change does not happen soon, the next one is going to go straight to their jugular.

Now a word to the wise. Hipolito has shown so far to be very slippery and a tricky man. He has learned from Balaguer that to get people to pay up, you have to create another smokescreen.
The 20% increase could have been the smokescreen to scare everybody and take their minds away from all the other evils facing his administration. If that was his objective, again, he is underestimating Dominicans and the will of the unions involved in this situation. It could all blow up in his face.

If he is just buying time(Remember he was requesting a cease fire until January 2002) he picked the wrong time of the year to do it. As we get into July and August, if he doesnt do something about Edesur, Edenorte, Codetel, his own tax executioners, inflation, unemployment, and corruption, is going to be a long hot summerfor Hipolito and the PRD party.Leonel Fernandez and the PLD Party are aiming their heavy guns and war chest from all the money they pickpocketed from us in the last administration, and they can use it to create disruptions and even riots with their PEME friends.

Nice summary TW. You should of also added that election day also slows Sousa down just a little bit.

It's not the government any more. They are private companies billing and collecting for electrical rates now. The government is still paying the bill for all those who steal electricity.

In order to have a bill of RD$1,500/month, you have to consume about 500 kw/hrs/month. I think the proposal was to increase the higher consumers to around RD$3 a kw/hr. We consume about 300 kw/hrs a month in our aparment in the winter and more than 500 kw/hrs in the summer. Refrig, two TVs, couple of radios, computer and assessories, lights (compact flourescents), coffe maker (for the wife), juicer, blender and 2 airconditioners. We don't pay to heat the water and wash our clothes at the laudrymat. If a family does not use A/C they may get under the $1,500 but more people will qualify once there is acurate metering going on.