Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: Government and Politics
percent of the votes in the first round. With a renewed PRD
under his tight leadership, Peha Gomez performed well. However,
he only gained 45.9 percent of the vote. He was followed
by Leonel Fernandez of the PLD with 38.9 percent, and Jacinto
Peynado of the Reformist Social Christian Party (Partido
Reformista Social Cristiano—PRSC) with 15 percent. Balaguer
did not endorse his party's candidate (indeed, he did not even
vote in the first round) , instead providing his implicit support
to Fernandez during the first round. For the second round,
Balaguer and the PRSC officially endorsed the candidacy of
Leonel Fernandez in a "Patriotic Pact" calling for the preservation
of national sovereignty and Dominicanness, against the
candidacy of Peha Gomez. Fernandez defeated Peha Gomez in
the second round.
Fernandez obtained the presidency, but his party had a very
small representation in Congress as a result of its poor performance
in the 1994 elections. The new electoral calendar established
by the 1994 reform meant that congressional elections
would now be held at the midpoint of the presidential term.
And, soon after Fernandez's electoral victory, the PRSC negotiated
a pact with the PRD to secure leadership positions in Congress.
Without congressional support, the Fernandez administration
has faced serious difficulties in obtaining the passage of a
number of desired reforms, although some progress has been
made on a number of important fronts. The legislative attempt
to reform the economy in late 1996 failed when Congress
refused to agree on a set of policy proposals to liberalize the
economy, including lower tariffs and a higher value-added tax.
Congressional deadlock prevented an agreement over the
national budget for 1997, which led President Fernandez to
withdraw the budget bill from Congress and use the 1996 budget
agreement to apply in 1997, as stipulated by the constitution
when no agreement is reached between the executive and
the legislative branches over revenues and expenditures.
Yet, Fernandez has governed in a more democratic and institutional
fashion than Balaguer, without renouncing the use of
patronage or clientelist mechanisms. Some important legislative
measures also have been approved to which he can point.
Furthermore, the country has been able to maintain high rates
of economic growth with moderate inflation, and the state has
modestly expanded its investments in education, health, and
housing.
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