The low economic growth returned to the center of the political debate after the warnings of Richard Medina, economist and member of the PLD Political Committee, who asked the Government to take urgent measures to face the combination of inflation, external pressure and lower internal dynamism. For Medina, the country enters 2025 with a fragile base and with signals that are already affecting households.
The leader argued that the year 2025 closed with a growth of just 2.1%, a figure that he described as the lowest in 15 years and far below the Dominican historical average. That data, combined with the increase in food prices at the end of the year, feeds the concern over the low economic growth and its direct impact on the basic basket.
Low economic growth and pressure on households
Medina pointed out that food inflation hits harder on low-income families, just when the economy is facing the effect of the international oil crisis and the conflict in Iran. In his reading, that mix leaves less room to absorb new shocks without prices rising or consumption falling.
The economist also compared the Dominican performance with that of Central American countries, which he cited as reference economies in the region. According to his proposal, the Dominican Republic was the negative exception within that group due to the limited rate of expansion recorded last year.
What the PLD asks for in the face of low economic growth
The line that defends the PLD, according to Medina, is clear: before discussing a tax reform, the Government must cut current spending. The leader distinguished that spending from capital spending, which includes infrastructure works and projects that promote employment and economic activity.
- Reduce special pensions and unfocused subsidies.
- Brake indiscriminate appointments in the public payroll.
- Prioritize investment in schools, roads and useful works for communities.
- Eliminate the advance to micro and small businesses.
- Increase the exempt minimum from the payroll tax.
Low economic growth and fiscal debate
Medina insisted that over the last six years current spending has grown while capital spending has decreased in weight. That trend, he said, limits the state’s ability to sustain productive investment and forces a stricter review of public priorities.
Parallel to this, the leader assured that the PLD capitalizes on social unrest over high prices and lack of employment. He also considered the no-habeas corpus issued in favor of Gonzalo Castillo and José Ramón Peralta as positive, as he believed that that proceeding reflects an instrumentalization of justice against the past administration of Danilo Medina.
Richard Medina and the political context of low economic growth
Richard Medina, the youngest member of the PLD Political Committee and secretary general of the Circumscription 1 of the National District, has built his profile as an economist and technical spokesperson for the party. His message combines fiscal criticism, defense of public investment and political reading of an economy that, according to him, is going through a stage of low economic growth with visible costs for the middle class and the poorest households.
In that framework, the debate is not only about the numbers, but about the state’s ability to respond to an adverse external situation without deepening the deterioration of family income and formal employment.
