Thousands March Against Corruption in Dominican Republic

Thousands of people in the Dominican Republic on Sunday participated in a massive anti-corruption march held in the southern city of Azua.

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From the early hours of the morning, dozens of cars arrived in the city, bringing people dressed in green from all across the nation island.

The march comes as Dominican media reported in March that consuls in New York and Boston were abruptly replaced after the U.S. State Department refused to accept their credentials because both are U.S. citizens.

One corruption watchdog estimates that more than half of Dominican diplomatic appointments do not work in those jobs but still receive government salaries. They are locally known as "botellas vacias," or empty bottles.

"It reflects poorly on the government. It's a sign of corruption," said Julio Cesar de la Rosa, president of the Dominican Anti-Corruption Alliance.

Questions about the patronage system extend beyond the foreign service. In the capital, Santo Domingo, two of the largest government office buildings are sarcastically dubbed Huacal and Huacalito, slang for crates used to deliver bottles to stores.

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In early April, the administration of President Danilo Medina said it would propose a law to modernize the foreign service, although it did not specify what changes would be made.

Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso said he hoped the law would reduce the payroll. While salaries represent a fraction of the country's US$14 billion in public expenditure this year, they have become a flashpoint for government waste.

Another corruption scandal has also played a major part in the two previous "End Impunity" marches, related to the alleged bribes the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht paid the government to gain access to Dominican contracts.

According to documents published on Dec. 21 by the U.S. Justice Department, Odebrecht paid approximately US$788 million in bribes in 12 countries, US$92 million of which was handed out in the Dominican Republic to secure contracts over almost two decades.