“The people do not live off statistics." It was brutally pithy and
flung out from the pulpit by Monsignor Victor Masalles, the auxiliary bishop of
the archdioceses of Santo Domingo, to a congregation including President Leonel
Fernández. The occasion was the Independence Day Te Deum mass on 27 February.
The criticism will have been felt all the more keenly because Fernández devoted
much of his state-of-the-nation address to congress on the same day extolling
the achievements of his government - in statistics. Masalles did not content
himself with pointing out that the poor had not felt the trickle-down effect of
impressive economic growth in recent years, he also attacked the government's
record on social welfare and education. Days later Fernández dismissed both his
finance and education ministers.End of preview - This article contains approximately 985 words.
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