Sep. 24, 2007
Dominican president's talk is full of firsts
BY JANE BUSSEY
When Dominican President Leonel Fernández appeared before more than 300 business and community leaders in Coral Gables last week, there were a lot of firsts.
Fernández was the first head of state to appear at an event organized by the University of Miami's Center for Hemispheric Policy; it was the largest crowd the center had ever hosted; and it was the first time the center had a corporate sponsor, Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest gold producer.
In a wide-ranging speech, Fernández spoke about the 20th century history of the Dominican Republic and outlined the strengths and challenges of the current economy and his agenda.
''We have to strengthen democracy,'' Fernández said. ``Latin America will not progress until we can have a sustained economic growth rate of 6 percent a year.''
The meeting was also unusual because the two-term Dominican president was not the only leader from the island of Hispaniola present at the event held in the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables.
HAITIAN ISSUES
When someone in the audience asked about Haitian-Dominican relations, Fernández called on Gerard Latortue, the former prime minister of Haiti who was sitting near the front of the audience, to answer. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola, but it can be an uneasy cohabitation. The Dominican economy is one of the best performers in Latin America, and Haiti ranks near the bottom.
Latortue addressed whether Haitians are working in slavery-like conditions on Dominican sugar mines, the subject of a documentary this year.
''There is a world movement trying to create problems every day between Haiti and the Dominican Republic,'' Latortue said, adding that any talk of a future for one country must consider that the two nations are linked.
Among those attending the late afternoon talk were two executives from Barrick.
TORONTO INTEREST
The Toronto-based company is reviewing the Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the central part of the nation. The Dominican government operated the mine until 1999. Barrick acquired a special lease agreement for the mine and estimates its share of the proven and probable gold reserves reaches 10.9 million ounces of gold, which hit $733.40 an ounce last week.
Members of the audience pushed forward to greet Fernández and his wife, Margarita Cedeño, or have their pictures taken in a scene that lasted more than 45 minutes. Barrick executives Kelvin Dushnisky, senior vice president of corporate affairs, and Benjamin Little, director of government affairs, were among those unable to meet up with Fernández because of the crowd.
Dushnisky and Little said the mine project in the Dominican Republic looks promising.
Barrick has announced plans to invest $2 billion in the Pueblo Viejo mine but there are still questions of whether the site must first be cleaned of acid runoffs and mineral wastes and who will pay for the cleanup.
The mine, believed to be the oldest gold mine in the hemisphere, is about 66 miles northwest of Santo Domingo.
