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UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000402 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, LA PAZ FOR A/DCM C LAMBERT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ENRG PGOV PHUM HA DR
SUBJECT: SANTO DOMINGO ECONOMIC-POLITICAL ROUNDUP, MARCH 
31, 2009 
 
(SBU) In this edition of the roundup: 
 
¶1. Chevron Settles Dispute with Union Drivers 
¶2. First Arrests Made Under 2007 Electricity Theft Law 
¶3. GoDR Energy Officials Receptive to Proposed Regional 
Partnership 
¶4. Government Caught in Orwellian Incident 
¶5. Think Tank Event Publicizes Dominican-Haitian Cooperation 
 
¶1. (SBU) Chevron Settles Dispute with Union Drivers 
 
On March 26, Chevron signed an agreement with the drivers' 
union that blockaded its operation in June 2008 in protest to 
a change in the fuel delivery contract which led to the loss 
of their jobs.  As part of the agreement, Chevron provided 
compensation to 38 drivers and the drivers promised not to 
blockade Chevron in the future.  Chevron's Manager for 
Caribbean Global Downstream, Hector Infante, told the Charge 
that the union approached the company in January to request a 
settlement after the company's original offer had expired at 
the end of 2008.  Infante said that the drivers' union was 
having trouble with the truck owners, who were holding out 
for a contract extension, and decided to seek a separate 
settlement.  Infante confirmed that Chevron has been 
operating successfully under the new fuel delivery contract, 
but that it was still waiting for operating permits for four 
new trucks even though they had been approved two years ago. 
He said Chevron told the GODR the settlement could not be 
finalized until the licenses had been issued. 
 
¶2. (SBU) First Arrests Made Under 2007 Electricity Theft Law 
 
Two individuals were arrested for electricity theft on March 
19, one month after the Superintendent of Electricity 
announced that the 2007 law criminalizing this theft had gone 
into effect.  The arrests, the first to invoke the new law, 
occurred when the pair was caught in the act of making an 
illegal connection to benefit a small hotel in Santo Domingo. 
 The arrests garnered substantial press attention, including 
an editorial in the El Caribe newspaper that called them "a 
healthy and responsible carriage of justice."  The fact that 
police caught the thieves in the act makes the case less of a 
test of the new law, however.  This precedent will be 
established only when illicit electricity consumers are 
detected and subjected to justice.  The general manager of 
the electricity distribution company Ede Este told ECONOFF 
that he has submitted the names of five large-scale thieves 
to the Superintendent for what he hopes will represent a 
high-profile crackdown on the illicit activity. 
 
¶3. (U) GoDR Energy Officials Receptive to Proposed Regional 
Partnership 
 
During a visit to the DR on March 18-19, Samuel Browne from 
the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. 
Department of Energy met with key players in the energy 
sector from the GoDR and private companies.  Among other 
topics, he discussed USG plans to introduce an Energy 
Partnership in the Americas, along the lines of a speech that 
President Obama made during the 2008 presidential campaign. 
The public sector officials were receptive to the 
partnership, noting that better regional coordination in 
energy matters could help energy importers like the Dominican 
Republic develop its nascent renewable energy industry and 
better absorb the impacts of volatile energy prices.  Browne 
invited the GoDR policymakers to provide input on developing 
the architecture of the partnership, but the officials' 
response was limited to seeking assistance for their 
agencies' pet projects. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Government Caught in Orwellian Incident 
 
In his March 26 column in "Clave Digital," former Ambassador 
to the U.S. Bernardo Vega reported on the Government's 
unusual efforts to promote foreign investment.  Vega 
described an incident in which the Government bought space in 
 
 
a magazine and then touted the advertisement as if it were an 
unbiased news article:  "Since the times of the dictator 
Trujillo nothing like it has occurred.  Our government 
announced with great fanfare that the February 22 New York 
Times Magazine had said marvelous things about the economic 
situation in our country.  Later, the Minister of Industry 
bought a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper to tout 
the great success.  What had happened is that, with 
taxpayers' funds, the government had purchased an 
announcement in the magazine.  Why does the government try to 
fool the Dominican people?  They should be ashamed of 
themselves." 
 
¶5. (U) Think Tank Event Publicizes Dominican-Haitian 
Cooperation 
 
A recent event held at Fundacion Global Democracia y 
Desarollo (FUNGLODE), a think tank founded by President 
Fernandez, highlighted activities organized by NGOs that are 
helping the Dominican and Haitian people engage each other 
and pursue common goals.  At the forum, attended by CONOFF, 
Panelists described the "First Dominican-Haitian Youth 
Encounter," in which 124 participants exchanged ideas on the 
evolution of their societies.  A "Special Dominican-Haitian 
Task Force on the Millennium Development Goals and Youth" 
brought 20 people together to examine the development goals 
and joint strategies to attain them.  Finally, participants 
in the FUNGLODE event noted that two additional events are 
planned for April and May, the "Dominican-Haitian Diaspora 
Youth Forum" and the "Haitian Model UN Conference." 
 
(U) Please visit us at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/  
GOUGHNOUR