Dominican Republic Congress Considers Creating Santa Lucía and Matías Ramón Mella Provinces

The Dominican National Congress is reviewing two legislative initiatives that would create new provinces. Senator Félix Bautista of San Juan has filed a bill to elevate the municipality of Las Matas de Farfán to a province named Santa Lucía, comprising Las Matas de Farfán, El Cercado and Vallejuelo and their municipal districts, with elections for provincial officials slated for 2028. A separate proposal, authored by Deputy Abelardo Rutin and signed by 51 legislators, seeks to carve out a province called Matías Ramón Mella from the current Santo Domingo province. It would include the municipalities of Santo Domingo Norte, Santo Domingo Oeste, Pedro Brand, Los Alcarrizos and La Victoria, making Santo Domingo Oeste the provincial capital and upgrading La Victoria to municipality status.

If enacted, the reforms would reshape the Dominican territorial map. Santa Lucía would cover about 1,123 km², reducing San Juan’s area and dropping it from the largest province to fourth place, while Matías Ramón Mella would add roughly 709 km² to the national total of new provincial land.