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BiggerVendors of Sosúa reach agreement with the Ministry of Tourism
Sosúa, DR.- With the mediation of Bishop Julio César Corniel Amaro, members of the Sosúa Beach Vendors Association and the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) have reached an agreement that put an end to the protests and the occupation of the San Felipe de Puerto Plata Cathedral.
During the meeting in which the provincial director of Tourism, Atahualpa Paulino, and the intervention of local and national officials, it was agreed to halt the work on the plaza being built on the Charamicos side and that a commission would travel to Santo Domingo to Mitur to reach a consensus on a solution to the conflict.
The members of the entity headed by its president Andrés Batista, spokesman José Manuel González, and union members Pablo Castillo, Luis Bencosme, and Jorge López, have been demanding the fulfillment of the initial agreements which establish the construction of 3 plazas, the main one on the beach itself.
It is recalled that dozens of vendors on the beach of Sosua occupied the San Felipe Cathedral, demanding that the government resolve the construction of the three agreed squares, according to Listin Diario.
Batista, president of the Sosua Beach Vendors Association, indeed indicated that their claim is a consequence of the non-compliance of the authorities to the agreements reached in previous meetings.
The directors of the Association demand the halt of the square under construction, which is located on the side of the Charamicos sector and not on the beach itself, indicating that what they live on is the sale on the beach. Still, the square outside the beach would condemn them to starving to death.
Congratulations to the beach vendors. It took a Bishop to get the attention of MITUR. In Guayacanes MITUR built beautiful new buildings but took away all the parking. Over 100 parking spaces now gone . No Parking = No Clients. The vendors are now making 40% less money !
These government sponsored improvements seem to destroy the rustic charm of the beach environments. What they have done is increase costs for the vendors paying for a revised space. These increased costs are passed down to the buyers.
When government improved Macao beach, the prices of restaurant menus almost doubled. It is a given that part of the increase is an indirect result of the pandemic and rising food costs. However, the pandemic is/was not the soul of the hike. The only other influence is the rents for space and locations. Macao beach workers have been somewhat restrained about making comments about the prices. Yet, some owners of businesses indicate a portion of their increases is because of the “improvements”.
The Sosua beach vendors need to push back harder.
The problem also in Macoa beach is that they have completely blocked the access to the beach like it used to be. You can’t no longer go down to the beach on your vehicle so instead, now you have to park up the hill and then walk down to the beach. Most of those vendors on the far end of the beach are now with no business. Another thing is that the hotel that was built there also block the access to the beach.
So these people have been working the beach for years and years and now the government doesn’t want to honor the agreement made to provide those people a place to work to make a living for themselves and their family. Not fair.