NEW YORK: Overseas deputy and current candidate for the same position, Norberto Rodríguez, valued as very positive the signing of the agreement held between the Banco de Reservas of the Dominican Republic and the bodega associations in this city.
“Our constitutional president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, has not made a mistake in having someone like Samuel Pereyra and his entire team at the helm of the Banco de Reservas, who today make this contact with Dominicans abroad and with the signing of this agreement because we are an important part of the support of our country’s economy,” said Deputy Norberto Rodríguez.
The Banco de Reservas, the Consulate General of the Dominican Republic in New York, and the bodega associations “Bodega & Small Business Group USA, INC.” and “United Bodegas of America” signed an agreement to promote the inclusion and financial education of Dominicans residing in the United States.
The initiative will be developed through the financial inclusion and credit recovery program Preserve, which will benefit more than 75,000 direct and indirect employees of the signing entities and related parties.
Consul Eligio Jáquez, representing the Consulate of the Dominican Republic in NY, served as host to sign an agreement between the Banco de Reservas of the DR and the bodega associations of NY UBA and BSBG. The deal was signed by Samuel Pereyra, Radhamés Rodríguez, Francisco Marte, and Consul Jáquez. A step forward in consolidating a vital service!” Consul Eligio Jáquez wrote on Thursday, March 21, on his X account.
“President Abinader once again is letting us know that we are much more important than we were considered before the change of government in 2020. The Abinader government signals that by taking into account bodega owners and small businesses owned by Dominicans in the diaspora, a sector that seeks to continue to prosper and strengthen the Dominican community. With achievements like this and others, we will have even greater support with President Abinader,” added Rodríguez, president of the Commission of Deputies Abroad of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic.
Foreign Work Visa Project in the DR
Norberto Rodríguez, when approached by the New York press about the proposal to regularize immigrants in the Dominican Republic, said that the issue of work visas is a very delicate matter because, historically, the Dominican Republic has a problematic relationship with Haiti, so he believes that the easiest way to remove obstacles is to take the model of the United States work visa system.
“Every year the United States grants about 66 thousand work visas to different countries; we can apply a similar method, we can regularize all those immigrants, let’s say in this case the Haitians, who are currently working in the Dominican Republic and do not contribute a cent to the country’s treasury,” said Norberto, before adding: “it is said that there are more than 2 million Haitians living in our country; now, imagine that each of them could pay taxes properly like Dominicans do, that would generate billions of pesos for our country.”
He added that the money collected from taxes could be used to create a better security and border protection system, to build hospitals and school infrastructures, but above all that, the country could have a better level of citizen security because all residents would be adequately identified with addresses where they live and how many family members or people are inside our country.
Law 495 on Vehicle Imports to the DR
One of the most longed-for demands in the Dominican diaspora is that the government does everything possible to modify Law 495. This law creates a monopoly that benefits vehicle importers at the expense of the Dominican community abroad. It raises vehicle prices to double the original price in international markets. According to Deputy Norberto Rodríguez, his legislative initiative will modify this law, allowing vehicles to be imported with up to 8 years of use, which would considerably lower costs than the current regime of only five years.
“With God’s help, we will achieve that Dominicans can bring vehicles with at least 8 years of manufacture. We are within the framework of the law, and when law 495 came into effect in 2007, today it does not apply to new technology. I’ll give you an example, today we have vehicles that do not have catalytic converters, they are electric and 100% environmentally friendly,” recalled the elected official.
He explained that the law on vehicle importation was created to protect biodiversity and the environment, so it makes no sense to hinder the importation of electric cars, which do not pollute the environment.
