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Constitución, constitución, constitución…

Hoy vuelve a aparecer la Constitución en todos los periódicos nacionales. Esta vez no para hablar de la tan famosa y sonada reforma, sino para recordar sus orígenes y principios. Un día como hoy, hace 165 años la República Dominicana escribió su primera Constitución. Un texto que ha recibido más modificaciones que la cara de Cher y hoy poco se parece a esa versión original. 14 gobiernos a lo largo de la historia republicana se han dedicado a modificar…

Judges sentences former DomRep bank director

Wow, this is something we need to see more often.  Read on:   SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The president of a collapsed Dominican bank has been sentenced to two years in prison for fraud and ordered to pay more than $82 million in compensation. A three-judge panel imposed the sentence Thursday after convicting Leonel Almonte of defrauding three businessmen. Most of the compensation is for interest on the money they lost on investments at his Grupo…

Loss of sea access hits the Dominican Republic’s already pressed fishermen

The article bellow describes one growing concerns to me and it should be a concern to all Dominicans.  There are many socio-economic issues in the Dominican Republic.  One of them is the lawless ongoing corruption that seems to never stop and impunity to those who practice it is about certain.  I am happy to see how this new generation of Dominicans, with the help of technology are more aware of the situation in the country and eager to participate in…

Police crackdown in Bavaro nabs suspects, guns

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.- The Tourism Police (Politur) conducted surprise nighttime searches over the weekend in the Bavaro tourism zone, looking for hoodlums and guns, to curtail street crime in the area. Politur’s Bavaro chief colonel Johnny Vásquez said more than 100 agents were deployed in the streets and sectors of the country’s biggest resort zone, searching vehicles, motorcycles and suspicious people, who were detained on the spot if any irregularity was detected. He…

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REJECTS CHANGES TO MARRIAGE LAW

Affirms Statement Against Same-Sex Unions SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, JUNE 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Dominican Republic Congress approved a statement defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. On Wednesday members of review assembly working on constitutional reform affirmed this definition, and also rejected a proposal to amend the Constitution in a way that would civilly recognize marriages performed in all of the churches located in the country. The Catholic Church, however, retains the power to celebrate marriages…

New rules on who is Dominican

Gender discrimination in granting Dominican citizenship will be eliminated from the Constitution, according to modifications approved by the Constitutional Revisory Assembly yesterday. In the past, if a foreign woman married a Dominican, she would acquire Dominican nationality, but this was not the case for foreign men who married Dominican women. Now, both would be entitled to Dominican citizenship. The Assembly also ruled on Art. 16 of the Constitution on nationality on a mix of jus sanguinis (by parents) and jus…

Dominican Republic Nobly Passes Bill to Preserve Life – Lesson for the Whole World

I found this great article that not only shares the joy of everyone who is a pro life but also give a brief historical description on who Dominicans are, where they came from, ancestry, and history. The new law recently signed by the president surely marks an important bookmark in Dominican and world’s history. “On April 23, 2009 the Dominican Republic was urged by its President Leonel Fernandez to consider the matter of ending the…

Return to Trujillo era?

The legislators who are creating a new Constitution for the Dominican Republic have passed a first reading on a bill that would enable a court ruling to confiscate goods for political reasons. New Article 23 reads: “There will not be confiscation of goods of physical persons, companies, national or foreign, except if this is determined by a competent authority, in virtue of the law.” Deputy Pelegrin Castillo says this opens…

FBI Investigation into MLB Scouting Still Ongoing

The FBI continues its investigation into Major League Baseball’s Dominican Republic scouting programs. The whole thing is bound to get messier, so I want to establish a timeline now before there are simply too many conflicting stories to straighten out. Basically, for the past year, the feds have been investigating the skimming of bonuses from Latin American prospects by MLB personnel. Here’s how it’s gone down: July 2, 2006: The Washington Nationals sign…

Two Canadians arrested in Cabarete

The District Attorney of the National District described the arrests as “a strong blow to international crime”. El Caribe reported that the two, Marc Readman and Steve Rainville, were members of a motorbike gang known as Hell’s Angels that is accused of being involved in international crime, and they were arrested on international warrants issued by the Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo District Attorneys. El Nuevo Diario says that both men are accused of as many as 22 murders and…