Fernández struggles to rebuild

Fernández: faced with the thankless task of rebuilding what the previous president’s administration shattered

Leonel Fernández, the Dominican Republic’s new president, is a man with a thankless task. After overhauling the Caribbean nation’s economy during his first presidency in the late 1990s and laying the groundwork for rapid growth from 2000 onwards, he watched as his work was undone by his successor, Hipolito Mejía, who led the country into economic collapse and default in 2003.

Now Fernández is back to rebuild what Mejía’s administration shattered, but despite a new $670 million IMF loan the going is tough.