La Altagracia: the problems that “punish” the largest tourist province in the Dominican Republic
Senator Rafael Barón Duluc (Cholitín) warned that the province of La Altagracia is experiencing disordered growth, accumulated poverty, and pressure on public services, despite the tourism boom in Punta Cana and Bávaro.
During a speaking turn in the Senate session, the legislator asserted that the province «has been punished by success» and maintained that economic development has not been accompanied by sufficient planning or state investment.
«The province of Altagracia has the highest rate of accumulated poverty. We have grown, but the growth has not been optimal. It has been slum-like, unplanned, and marginalized,» he said.
Duluc expressed himself in those terms when highlighting the Senate-approved resolution requesting the conduct of a special census in La Altagracia, an initiative he considers a priority to address the problems of the demarcation.
The resolution requests that the President of the Republic instruct the National Statistics Office (ONE) to conduct a special and exclusive census in this province, according to Diario Libre.
The senator stated that the province has over a million inhabitants, although this is not reflected in the official statistics, as many people reside in Verón, Punta Cana, Bávaro, and Higüey without updating their electoral address.
He explained that the lack of accurate data has led to shortcomings in areas such as education, transportation, and basic services.
«The problem of school classrooms in Verón is not solved. Thousands of children are left without access to school every year,» he said.
Impaired mobility
The legislator also warned about deteriorating mobility in the tourist area and assured that traffic jams in Punta Cana and Verón already exceed those in Santo Domingo at times.
«The average time from the airport to a hotel used to be 10 minutes. Now it’s up to 40 minutes and can even reach an hour,» he said.
During his presentation, Duluc mentioned recent statements by tourism entrepreneur Frank Rainieri, who described the unregulated and unplanned growth of real estate and tourism in Punta Cana as «unsustainable.»
The legislator said that Rainieri was «prudent» in his statements and asserted that the real situation in the province is even more worrying.
He also urged the Government to pay attention to La Altagracia and to have clear statistics.
«I urge the Government and the country to carry out this census, in order to have clear statistics; it is more important than any road, hospital or other project at this time for this province,» Duluc stated.
