Dominican Republic

Land of beautiful beaches like Punta Cana, brilliant baseball players like "Big Papi", Robinson Canó, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez (even if he doesn't admit it), fun dances like merengue and bachata, beautiful women like Amelia Vega, Dania Ramirez, and half of Zoe Saldaña. Hell we even have about half of the cast of Orange is the New Black.

This is the "Dominican Republic" for the rest of the world.

This is the Dominican Republic when you decide to book a 5k vacation to Casa de Campo.

According to those on the outside we're tropical like the rum filled drinks you have while lounging on your chaise longue watching the sunset in our 95 degree weather. And wild like the sensual beats that fill your veins and pump through your body as you dance with a "spicy Latina" you met on your trip and hope to take up to your room.

But that's not all we are.

Currently - above everything else - we are broken.

The Dominican Republic, aside from being home of all of the previously mentioned is also home of a 103 ranking in Transparency International's perceived corruption index. In layman's terms that means that in the world (atleast the world as described by this 167 country list) there are only 64 countries perceived to be more corrupt than ours.

Mind you - the Dominican Republic is the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

(we're that little red speck.)

And don't get me wrong, we have a history of corruption (we even had a president sell us to Spain behind everyone's back for a quick buck back in the day) but in the globalized society that we live in I personally believe it's important that the rest of world know what's actually going on with the first country of the New World beyond those lovely resort walls.

The Case of Felix Bautista.

Felix Bautista - elected (and supposedly reelected by the public - clearly due to fraudulent electoral process but what else is new- by over a 70% of votes) has been accused of money laundering, abuse of power, prevarication and illicit enrichment amounting to millions of dollars. And despite the judicial ministry's attempts at investigation of these accusations - he has yet to see justice brought down on him.

According to Transparency International's attempt at "unmasking the corrupt"

When prosecutors compared what he reported in his asset declarations and what landed up in his bank accounts during this time, it became clear that Bautista was amassing wealth that far outweighed his modest salary of US$ 1,245.20 per month received as a public official. According to a well-documented investigation carried out by the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and referred to the Supreme Court in October 20145, Bautista established a network of more than 35 companies that were all ultimately controlled by him. He, with the support of close associates, used these companies to gain access to public contracts awarded by the public works office he headed at the time. In one instance, Bautista awarded a series of public works projects worth more than US$130 million to a foreign company, but some of the funds and the responsibility for delivering some of the work initially contracted were allegedly transferred to a company that has been connected to Bautista. Bautista allegedly moved his money through bank accounts in Dominican Republic and abroad, and acquired interests in more than 150 local properties – including luxury apartments, villas and asphalt plants – as well as a private jet and several radio stations. The Public Prosecutor’s case made use of extensive evidence, including Bautista and his close associates’ bank statements and tax declarations, information from company and property registries, registration details of airplanes and radio licenses, as well as testimonials and other documents. The case against him seemed unassailable, yet in March 2015, it was dismissed due to a lack of sufficient evidence by a Supreme Court judge who is a member of the same political party of which Bautista is a high ranking official. This was contested by broad sections of society and led to thousands of people taking to the streets in protest. Although the Public Prosecutor’s Office sought an appeal, in October 2015 the Supreme Court upheld its decision that Bautista would not have to face criminal charges, so the Senator remains a free man. Bautista has faced similar allegations in the past. In 2012, he was accused of bribing Haitian President Michel Martelly to secure contracts and is currently being investigated in Peru for possible illegal campaign contributions to ex-Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo. According to a 2014 World Bank report chronic poverty in Dominican Republic is rife and almost one-third of the population remains poor despite having the skills and assets to generate higher income. If Bautista had been diverting public funds into his own pockets as so many have alleged, this can only have served to intensify this cycle of poverty. Among the most important corruption cases in 2015, analyzed by State’s report figures senator Felix Bautista and six codefendants who allegedly embezzled RD$4.5 billion (100 million dollars) when the lawmaker headed the State Supervisory Engineers Office (OISOE).

To put this in to perspective - more than a third of the Dominican Republic lives on less than $1.25 a day and over 20 percent of the country lives in extreme poverty. The minimum wage that an average Dominican makes is under 200 USD a month (if they're working in the private sector and over the table).

(yes, I'm aware not the entire country lives under these conditions. But it is a reality for many Dominicans and we have a government that does absolutely nothing to help those that do live like this.)

So you decide for yourself Steemit community - how does the justice system rank in the Dominican Republic? Where 20% of the country has no idea where their next meal is coming from and yet we have individuals who are sitting pretty on over 100 million stolen USD.

Next week I'll be writing up a segment on Leonel Fernandez, ex president and government puppeteer for over 20 years.

Until then,

Greetings from the DR