DR: Lotsa chiefs, few Indians

Saturday’s Diario Libre recounts how the number of generals in the Dominican Armed Forces has dramatically increased during the Mejia administration. According to the paper, the country is suffering from an “inflation” of generals. Not including those in the National Police, there are 190 generals in the three branches of the Armed Forces. The writers say that 88% of current generals received their promotions during or after August 2000, when Hipolito Mejia was sworn in as president. In absolute terms, the year 2003 was a bumper crop for the generals’ ranks with 70 new generals getting their stars. The year 2004 is not far behind, however, with 54 new general officers so far.