Economist Magín Díaz said Friday that there is no risk of an exchange rate crisis because the Central Bank has 15 billion in reserves and has credibility.
“Hector Valdez Albizu comes out one day and says “this is not going to move,” and it is not going to move because he controls expectations,” he explained.
Diaz, former head of the General Directorate of Internal Taxes, understands that the Central Bank manages the dollar situation in the country.
“There is never a shortage; if you go and look for it, there is always a price at which it is sold at a higher price now the Central Bank, with the exchange rate what it does is that it tries to make the price move slowly,” he said.
The expert revealed that “the Dominican economy grew the same as the average of Latin America, in the last 30 years, let’s say we grew twice as much. Now, it is the lowest growth in 30 years or so.”
He maintained that the country’s finances are robust because “in a bad year, we grow equal to the average.”
“The Government made a reformulated complementary budget where it increased the deficit to 221 billion pesos, but the preliminary results indicate a deficit close to 210 billion pesos, that is to say, a little less than the complementary budget,” he said.
Regarding the rate increase for this year, he indicated that the Central Bank had lowered the reference rate and given liquidity to the banks so that they could lend at fixed rates for a couple of years at a lower rate than they were. The rates here could decrease more if the United States lowers its rate.
These statements were made on the El Sol de la Mañana program, broadcast on Zol 106.5 FM.