In four years as the Dominican Republic’s minister of finance, Donald Guerrero oversaw record economic growth and improved social welfare.
An accomplished business owner and economist whose policies helped the Dominican Republic achieve record economic growth and transparency in government spending, Donald Guerrero is the founder and CEO of Axis Automotive Group. The longtime university economics professor was appointed minister of finance of the Dominican Republic in 2016 and served four years in this office under President Danilo Medina. The Banker, a Financial Times publication, named him Minister of Finance of the Year for the Americas in 2018.
GDP Growth and Poverty Reduction
Donald Guerrero helped the Dominican Republic expand its economy and improve social welfare within just one year as minister of finance. By the end of his first year in office in 2017, the country’s GDP had grown 4%, with significant growth in revenues and public investment. Consequently, it was able to increase spending on education and public health, primarily in teacher salaries and the construction of new schools and primary health centers. The World Bank reported a 12% reduction of poverty in the Dominican Republic in 2017.
Gains in Education
The Dominican Republic’s education system improved dramatically during Guerrero’s tenure as minister of finance. In 2013, the average public school day was just 2.5 hours. During his time in office, students attended public schools for an average of eight hours per day, received government-supplied uniforms and books, and were fed free breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
Greater Transparency and Efficient Tax Collections
As part of his agenda to make government spending more transparent, Donald Guerrero played a key role in the Dominican Republic passing the purchase law, which requires all state transactions to be published online. He also led efforts to improve collaboration between customs and internal revenue, the country’s two collecting agencies, on strategies to fight tax evasion. Under his direction, the finance ministry introduced electronic receipts for more transparent business taxation, invested in better technology, and acquired support from the Inter-American Development Bank and US Treasury.
Furthering his efforts to fight tax evasion, Donald Guerrero encouraged the Dominican Republic in 2018 to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS). The country also passed an anti-money laundering law with recommended best practices from the World Economic Forum. The Dominican Republic was able to increase state income that year after bringing in 100% percent of estimated collections.
Leading Growth in the Region
Near the end of Guerrero’s tenure as minister of finance, the Dominican Republic had increased foreign investments, signed beneficial international trade agreements, and had some of the lowest levels of debt and public spending in the Caribbean region. In 2019, it led all Caribbean, Central American, and Latin American nations with a gross economic growth of 5%. Donald Guerrero was succeeded by José Manuel Vicente Dubocq as the Dominican Republic’s minister of finance in 2020.
Donald Guerrero’s Background
Donald Guerrero holds a master’s degree in finance from the University of Maryland and completed his undergraduate studies at the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology. He has taught postgraduate international and corporate finance at INTEC and business strategy at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. He also held senior positions at Banco Intercontinental and Chase Manhattan Bank.
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