A two-day strike and anti-government unrest that left at least 11 people dead has cast a shadow over the inauguration of incumbent President Joaquin Balaguer.
Balaguer, 83 and blind, was to be sworn in Thursday for a sixth term as leader of this poor Caribbean island nation of 7 million. His election May 16 was marred by charges of fraud.Presidents Carlos Andres Perez of Venezuela and President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot of Haiti were to attend Thursday's inauguration ceremony. Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole was to head the U.S. delegation.
The conservative president's austerity program announced last week cut subsidies and raised prices. It prompted violent protests, including a crippling strike and rioting Monday and Tuesday.
Last month, one person died and 20 hurt as security forces clashed with demonstrators protesting the disputed presidential election.
The austerity program recommended by the International Monetary Fund, which lends to developing countries, was aimed at cutting an inflation rate of more than 50 percent.
The government cut subsidies on a series of basic consumer items, including gasoline, sugar and flour. Gasoline went up 83.6 percent from 55 cents a gallon to $1.07.
The minimum monthly salaries are $69 for public employees and $96 for private sector employees.
The country, whose largest export item is sugar, was hit hard by a fall in sugar prices and its unemployment rate is about 25 percent.
In his last term, Balaguer embarked on an ambitious $2 billion construction program funded largely with money he printed. It created hundreds of jobs but caused runaway inflation.
Much of the construction was aimed at expanding a tourist industry that stands to benefit in 1992 from the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.
Balaguer won re-election May 16 by a less than 2 percent margin. Former leftist president Juan Bosch, 81, who was the main rival, accused Balaguer of election fraud.