Dominican Republic shows encouraging figures on poverty reduction: President

Santo Domingo.– Over 950,000 people have escaped poverty and not by chance, Dominican President Danilo Medina said Saturday in his State of the Republic speech, which included a detailed list of his administration’s accomplishments.

According to the head of state, those people have managed to improve their economic situation thanks to the strong employment policy and the investment the government is doing in the people through social policies.

As an example he said that a family that benefits from the government’s social policies is able to save up to nearly RD$190,000 a year.

In that sense Medina praised the work of vice president Margarita Cedeño and the Social Policy Cabinet in charge of carrying out relevant initiatives such as "Progressing Together" –with World Bank support– aimed at lifting 180,000 residents of the National District and 13 provinces out of poverty.

He stressed that saying that a son of a humble family does not deserve a good education is a great excuse, saying that there will always be illiterate persons is a big lie, and saying that health is only for those who can afford it is a big lie.

"None of that is true. Saying that the Dominican Republic will always be a poor country is the biggest lie, because that is what this government came to change," Danilo Medina energetically expressed.