Weekly Report - 18 November 2003

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | Power shortage becomes critical. Electricity generating companies were reporting towards the end of last week that they had only a few days' worth of fuel left. This was the combined effect of the suspension of cheap Venezuelan oil supplies under the San José agreement (due to the Dominican Republic's alleged tolerance of anti- Chávez plotting) and the financial squeeze created by growing government arrears on its debt with the power utilities.