Recently published reports suggest that the public corruption scandalinvolving Brazilian multinational Odebrecht may have reached the Dominican Republic. President Danilo Medina’s popularity already has suffered, a month after his supporters engineered a constitutional amendment to allow him to seek reelection.
As part of the investigation into Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras, Odebrecht has been accused of bribing public officials to obtain government contracts. In a dramatic development, the powerful president of the company, Marcelo Odebrecht, was arrested on June 19 by Brazilian authorities.
Odebrecht has a predominant role in the construction industry in the Dominican Republic, one of the 21 countries in which it has a presence. According to the Brazilian magazine Epoca, in January 2013 former president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva traveled to the Dominican Republic for meetings with President Danilo Medina and his predecessor Leonel Fernández on behalf of Odebrecht. According to that published report, Lula apparently lobbied on behalf of the company to secure a contract issued by the state-run Dominican Corporation of State Electrical Companies (CDEEE) to construct a thermoelectric plant in Punta Catalina. Within three months of Lula’s visit, Odebrecht was awarded the contract, in apparent violation of government contracting regulations and despite the fact that its bid was more than twice that of a Chinese competitor.
The Chinese firm Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) has filed a challenge alleging a lack of transparency in the Dominican Republic’s tender process. The contract to build the clean-coal-fired plant was awarded to the Odebrecht-Tecnimont consortium, even though its bid of $2.040 billion was more than double the $900 million cost proposed by CGGC. Furthermore, because Odebrecht was under investigation by authorities at the time, the company should have been disqualified from the bidding process. To date, Odebrecht also has failed to prove that it can finance the project, which is another reason why a large number of companies were barred from participating in the tender.
Independent deputy Minerva Tavárez Mirabal, a vocal critic of President Medina, has publicly cited rumors in the National Congress that the Punta Catalina contract was awarded to Odebrecht in order to raise funds for Medina’s 2016 reelection campaign. Authorities of the Dominican utility company have dismissed unsubstantiated accusations about the tender process.
Presidential candidate Luis Abinader, who will square off with Medina in the national election next May, called on the president to accept an independent audit and investigation into the scandal involving several public works projects. “We are asking the President to act as his counterparts in other countries, who have opened high-level investigations.”
Medina enjoyed extraordinarily high approval ratings during his term, but his popularity has dipped since his political allies pushed through a constitutional amendment allowing him to seek reelection a month ago. With Dominican politics heating up in advance of the 2016 election, President Medina’s reelection bid could be threatened by the Odebrecht scandal.
As part of the investigation into Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras, Odebrecht has been accused of bribing public officials to obtain government contracts. In a dramatic development, the powerful president of the company, Marcelo Odebrecht, was arrested on June 19 by Brazilian authorities.
Dominican Republic’s President Danilo Medina waves after arriving in Panama City April 9, 2015. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
The Chinese firm Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) has filed a challenge alleging a lack of transparency in the Dominican Republic’s tender process. The contract to build the clean-coal-fired plant was awarded to the Odebrecht-Tecnimont consortium, even though its bid of $2.040 billion was more than double the $900 million cost proposed by CGGC. Furthermore, because Odebrecht was under investigation by authorities at the time, the company should have been disqualified from the bidding process. To date, Odebrecht also has failed to prove that it can finance the project, which is another reason why a large number of companies were barred from participating in the tender.
Independent deputy Minerva Tavárez Mirabal, a vocal critic of President Medina, has publicly cited rumors in the National Congress that the Punta Catalina contract was awarded to Odebrecht in order to raise funds for Medina’s 2016 reelection campaign. Authorities of the Dominican utility company have dismissed unsubstantiated accusations about the tender process.
Presidential candidate Luis Abinader, who will square off with Medina in the national election next May, called on the president to accept an independent audit and investigation into the scandal involving several public works projects. “We are asking the President to act as his counterparts in other countries, who have opened high-level investigations.”
Medina enjoyed extraordinarily high approval ratings during his term, but his popularity has dipped since his political allies pushed through a constitutional amendment allowing him to seek reelection a month ago. With Dominican politics heating up in advance of the 2016 election, President Medina’s reelection bid could be threatened by the Odebrecht scandal.
http://www.aei.org/publication/odebrecht-scandal-threatens-dominican-president/#.VahNOU-DKFE.twitter
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Escandalo de Odebrecht amenaza a presidente dominicano
Por Roger F. NoriegaInformes publicados recientemente sugieren que el escándalo decorrupción que involucra a la multinacional brasileña Odebrecht puede haber llegado a la República Dominicana. También, un mes después de que partidarios del presidente Danilo Medina elaboraran una enmienda constitucional que le permite buscar la reelección, la popularidad del presidente Danilo Medina ha sufrido una caída.Como parte de la investigación por corrupción y malos manejos en la compañía petrolera estatal de Brasil, Petrobras, Odebrecht ha sido acusada de sobornar a funcionarios públicos para obtener contratos con el gobierno. En un hecho dramático, el poderoso presidente de la compañía, Marcelo Odebrecht, fue arrestado el 19 de junio por autoridades brasileñas.Odebrecht tiene un papel predominante en la industria de la construcción en la República Dominicana, uno de los 21 países en los que tiene presencia. De acuerdo con la revista brasileña Época, en enero de 2013 el ex presidente Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva viajó a la República Dominicana para reunirse con el presidente Danilo Medina y su antecesor, Leonel Fernández, en representación de Odebrecht. El reporte señala que Lula al parecer cabildeó en nombre de la empresa para asegurar un contrato emitido por la Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) para la construcción de una planta termoeléctrica en Punta Catalina. Tres meses después de la visita de Lula, se otorgó el contrato a Odebrecht, en aparente violación de las normas de contratación pública y a pesar de que su oferta representaba más del doble que la de un competidor chino.La firma china Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) ha presentado una denuncia por la falta de transparencia en el proceso de licitación en la República Dominicana. El contrato para construir la planta se adjudicó al consorcio Odebrecht-Tecnimont, a pesar de que su oferta de $ 2,040 millones de dólares representaba más del doble en comparación con la de CGGC, que era de $900 millones de dólares. Además, dado que Odebrecht estaba siendo investigada por autoridades, la empresa debería haber sido descalificada del proceso de licitación. Hasta la fecha, Odebrecht tampoco ha podido demostrar que puede financiar el proyecto, una razón más por la cual se prohibió a un gran número de empresas el participar en la licitación.La diputada independiente Minerva Tavárez Mirabal, una fuerte crítica del presidente Medina, ha citado rumores en el Congreso Nacional que mencionan que el contrato Punta Catalina fue otorgado a Odebrecht con el fin de recaudar fondos para la campaña de reelección de Medina en el 2016. Autoridades de la compañía eléctrica Dominicana han desestimado estas acusaciones por falta de pruebas.El candidato presidencial Luis Abinader, quien se enfrentará con Medina en las elecciones nacionales en mayo próximo, llamó al presidente a aceptar una auditoría independiente y una investigación en el escándalo que involucra a varios proyectos de obras públicas. “Se supone que es interés del gobierno transparentar las inversiones del Estado o que tienen el aval del Estado, y en cuanto a las obras de Odebrecht se le está reclamando al Presidente que actúe como sus colegas de otros países que han decidido iniciar investigaciones al más alto nivel”, apuntó Abinader en un evento públicoMedina ha tenido índices de aprobación extraordinariamente altos durante su mandato, pero su popularidad empezó a caer hace un mes desde que sus aliados políticos promovieron una enmienda constitucional que le permite buscar la reelección. En una arena política cada vez más caliente y con miras a la elección del 2016, la reelección del presidente Medina podría verse amenazada por el escándalo de Odebrecht.Escándalos de corrupción han paralizado las administraciones de varios líderes en la región, especialmente en Brasil y Guatemala. En la República Dominicana, Danilo Medina podría sufrir consecuencias negativas si evidencia de corrupción surge o si se generan sospechas sobre su responsabilidad en estas acusaciones.
http://interamericansecuritywatch.com/escandalo-de-odebrecht-amenaza-a-presidente-dominicano/
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Publicado por GUASABARAeditor para GUASABARAeditor el 7/17/2015 05:31:00 a. m. --
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