MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dominican Republic president sworn in for 3rd term

President Leonel Fernandez

President Leonel Fernandez promised to boost agriculture production but warned of dire economic times as he was sworn in for a third term on Saturday

The president said he asked legislators to approve US$210 million to help farmers increase production, and boasted that unemployment has fallen to 14 percent from 20 percent in 2004. But "as this third term begins, a deteriorating global economy that has not been seen since the Great Depression is looming in the horizon," he said. Fernandez coasted to re-election in May after two nonconsecutive terms as president, bolstered by economic booms in tourism and foreign investment. He now must contend with soaring food prices and fallout from the U.S. economic downturn, even as the government finances several costly projects including a US$710 million subway system in the capital. One in four Dominicans lives in poverty, despite the shopping malls and designer golf courses for tourists that are transforming what was a nation of sugar plantations. The U.S. economy may play a pivotal role in Fernandez's third term. Americans buy about 80 percent of Dominican exports, have major investments in manufacturing and real estate and represent the bulk of tourists. The U.S. is also home to more than 1 million Dominican emigrants, who provide a tenth of the country's gross domestic product through remittances. In attendance Saturday were the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea and Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, came to meet with Fernandez and strengthen relations with a shrinking list of 23 countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead of rival China. The dignitaries all dressed in white, a local custom for a presidential inauguration. (AP)