Lawmakers support turning Verón into a municipality and Punta Cana into a municipal district
SANTO DOMINGO. The tourism, real estate, and population growth of Verón-Punta Cana has revived discussions in the National Congress about a new territorial organization for this area of La Altagracia province.
The proposal aims to make Verón a municipality and grant Punta Cana the status of a municipal district, an initiative that returns to the debate after the project that sought to elevate Verón-Punta Cana to a municipality expired in the National Congress.
The issue was raised again during the First Punta Cana Forum, where deputies from different political organizations agreed that the expansion of the area demands greater management and planning capabilities at the local level.
Management in line with growth
In that context, the deputy of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) for the National District, Charlie Mariotti Jr., considered that a territorial structure with greater powers would allow addressing from the area itself some of the needs generated by its development.
“The economic characteristics, the housing characteristics, the particularities of what Punta Cana means for the Dominican Republic deserve a territorial governance that is close, but that can also work on the brand institutionally hand in hand with the private sector,” he said.
Mariotti Jr. also stated that any new initiative must specify the territorial boundaries and establish an administrative organization that responds to the current conditions of Verón-Punta Cana.
I demand greater decentralization
Carmen Ligia Barceló, representative of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) for Hato Mayor, supported the aspiration to raise the category of the district and maintained that this responds to a need expressed by the inhabitants.
“I believe that the desire of the community members of Verón, in La Altagracia, to elevate this community is legitimate, because it reflects a deficiency we have, which is the fact of the centralization of public policies,” he asserted.
In his view, greater autonomy for local administrations would facilitate addressing the particularities of each territory, especially in places that have a significant share in the country's economic activity.
Population and territory
Liz Mieses, also from the PRM, conditioned her support on the district complying with the provisions established by the legislation to acquire the category of municipality.
“I firmly believe that if the law is there and allows it, then logically I am totally in agreement,” said the former councilwoman of the National District.
Mieses pointed out that when reorganizing the demarcations, variables such as the number of inhabitants, the territorial extension and the characteristics of each community must be taken into consideration.
Changing your category requires certain requirements
Rogelio Genao Lanza, representing the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) in La Vega, emphasized that municipalities have their own powers for planning their territories.
He explained that this aspect is relevant in Verón-Punta Cana due to the rate of expansion that the area has registered in the tourism, real estate and population sectors.
Genao Lanza indicated that a modification of the territorial category must be based on requirements related to the population and economic development of the demarcation, in addition to having the necessary political will to promote the legislative initiative.
What territorial category does Verón-Punta Cana currently have?
Currently, Verón and Punta Cana are part of the same demarcation: the Verón-Punta Cana Tourist Municipal District, belonging to the municipality of Higüey, in the province of La Altagracia.
The demarcation was created by Law 386-06, which established Verón-Punta Cana as a tourist municipal district.
The proposal suggests separating the two districts
The proposal that has returned to the legislative debate contemplates modifying the current territorial organization so that Verón becomes a municipality and Punta Cana becomes a municipal district.
In this way, the proposal would entail a new administrative division of a territory that currently operates under the same district administration.
A region marked by growth
The Verón-Punta Cana municipal district has experienced significant population and economic growth mainly associated with tourism, real estate and service activities.
According to the 2022 National Population and Housing Census, the district has 138,919 inhabitants, a figure that is part of the arguments used to propose a territorial reorganization.
What would turning Verón into a municipality entail?
The creation of a municipality would provide Verón with a local government structure with greater powers for the administration and planning of its territory, in accordance with the framework established for municipal governments.
For the legislators who support the initiative, this change would bring certain decisions and public services closer to a population that has grown along with the economic activity of the area.
Punta Cana would maintain its own local administration
The proposal also contemplates that Punta Cana acquire the category of municipal district, which would allow this demarcation to have a local administration within the new territorial organization proposed.
The objective would be to adapt the administrative structure to the characteristics and needs of an area that concentrates a significant part of the tourist and real estate activity of La Altagracia.
Population and development are part of the criteria
In addition to the number of inhabitants, to modify the category of a demarcation, aspects related to its territory, economic activity and the conditions established in the legislation must be considered.
Congressman Rogelio Genao Lanza explained that these elements must be evaluated along with the necessary political will to present and approve a new initiative in the National Congress.
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