Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna,
President of the Dominican
Republic, 1996-2000
Courtesy Embassy of the
Dominican Republic
The municipalities and the National District are governed by
mayors (called sindicos) and municipal councils, both popularly
elected to four-year terms. The size of the council depends on
the size of the municipality, but each is required to have at least
five members. The qualifications of local officials as well as the
powers and duties of mayors and councils are set by law. Naturalized
citizens can hold municipal office provided they have
lived in the community at least ten years.
Neither provinces nor municipalities have any significant
independent power to levy taxes. As a result, historically few
services have been initiated at the local level. There are no
local police departments, only a single national force. Policy
and programs relating to education, social services, roads, electricity,
and public works likewise are administered at the
national level, rather than at the provincial or municipal level.
Local government, therefore, has been weak and ineffective,
not only because it has lacked taxing authority, but also
because in the Dominican system the central government sets
almost all policy.
Starting in the early 1960s, the Bosch government made various
efforts to strengthen Dominican local government. A new
Dominican Municipal League came into existence in 1962, and
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