The PLD claims supermarkets are houses of terror.
Prices for basic foodstuffs have gotten out of hand under the current administration , leading, according to the PLD , to an accumulation of price increases of up to 100% on basic products over the past five years.
According to this accusation made by the Dominican Liberation Party ( PLD ), this government has failed in its agricultural policy and the cost of food consumes the salary increases applied in recent years.
In a press conference held at its National Assembly, the purple party made the following comparison of the prices of December 2020 with those of May 2025:
The cumulative increase in the General Consumer Price Index from August 2020 to April 2025 was 29%, but the Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages group registered a variation of almost 50%, according to statistics collected by the political group.
This meant that food prices accelerated by 68% above the average increase in the prices of other goods and services that make up the family basket .
"With appropriate sarcasm and good reason, families describe food outlets as houses of terror ," said the statement read by Luis Reyes, Secretary of Economic Affairs of the PLD .
He asserted that President Luis Abinader 's administration shows disdain for the national agricultural sector, while implementing improvised policies and allowing uncontrolled food imports .
"It has destabilized the national production of rice, beans, chicken and pork, as well as onions, potatoes, and milk, among others, which to date has ruined a significant percentage of producers of these products," Reyes charged.
In his opinion, the government has failed in all its attempts to design programs aimed at incentivizing production and encouraging price reductions . These include the Siembra RD Program , Inespre's Combos, and A Comer: del Campo al Colmado (A Comer: del Campo al Colmado), among others.
The 12% salary adjustment applied starting in April 2025 is diminishing in value compared to the cumulative inflation rate of 7.5% recorded between March 2023 and April 2025.
This means that real wages would have increased by only 4.5%, according to the opposition party's calculations.
But this improvement, although small , is only enjoyed by employees of large companies.
Micro and small businesses pay 15,860.00 and 17,193.00 pesos, respectively, which are considered representative salaries for families in the first and second quintiles of income distribution.
"With the corresponding cost of their family basket, it is observed that, as of last April, the basket of goods for the first quintile cost 27,968.00 pesos, which leaves a shortfall of approximately 12,108.00 pesos to purchase the goods and services in this basket, in the case of salaries for micro-enterprises, and approximately 10,775.00 pesos for the minimum wage for small businesses," the press release reads.
The average salary of the 2.3 million Dominicans working in the formal sector as of December 2024 was 36,045 pesos, while the cost of the corresponding family basket on that same date for a family in the third quintile, which includes a significant percentage of the middle and lower-middle classes, was 42,781 pesos.
For the PLD , single-income families are living with a monthly budget deficit of almost 20%, so it can be said that they are living in a state of distress and anxiety.
Meanwhile, they accuse the authorities of creating runaway debt to finance part of their "wasteful" spending on salaries for unproductive employees, advertising, and other superfluous expenses.
Design and implement an effective support policy for national agricultural production that guarantees the implementation of technologies to increase the productivity of agricultural sectors.
Implement programs aimed at increasing the productivity of Dominican workers, with the goal of contributing to increasing the income of Dominican families.
Implement a rural infrastructure development program that includes the construction of dams, irrigation canals, and the rehabilitation of rural and inter-farm roads to increase production areas and reduce transportation costs for inputs and crops.
In addition to the members of the PLD 's Secretariat of Economic Affairs, the press conference was also attended by PLD Secretary General Johnny Pujols and Vice President Zoraima Cuello.
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