President Abinader announces re-election aspirations, amid flagging economic growth
President Luis Abinader has just announced that he will seek a second term. Though he’ll have to formally seek his PRM’s nomination in this October’s primaries, there’s no doubt that the popular president will win his party’s backing. He justified his decision to run for reelection in May 2024 on the concept that there are still challenges to face, opportunities to take advantage of and changes that need to be made.
The Abinader presidency has certainly faced significant challenges, associated with managing the pandemic, the post-pandemic economic recovery, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and strong inflationary pressures. The last year of Abinader's first term looks like as though it’ll be a defiant one.
The economy was practically stagnant at the end of June, with y/y growth of 0.1% at its lowest level since the start of the post-pandemic recovery in March 2021. Although credit to the private sector has accelerated, it remains to be seen how quickly the monetary easing adopted in early June will accelerate economic growth. The borrowing rate, after plunging 348 bps in June, rebounded by 167 bps in July.
Although inflation y/y in July kept decreasing, and was below the target level of 4%, monthly inflation was higher than the monthly rates seen since February 2023. The exchange rate continues to rise, and for the first time in 2023, net international reserves fell by $800 million.
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