Dominican Republic faces legislative density and political shifts

The Dominican Republic holds the second-highest number of legislators per million inhabitants in Latin America, with 19.3. This figure is significantly higher than the regional average of 11.8, trailing only Uruguay, which has 37.9. In contrast, Brazil has the lowest density in the region with 2.8 legislators per million inhabitants.

Parallel to discussions on legislative structure, there is growing attention on the rise of anti-establishment figures in Dominican politics. Santiago Matías, known as Alofoke, has announced intentions to form a political organization. This development is viewed as a symptom of societal exhaustion with traditional systems, supported by data showing that only 45% of Dominicans expressed satisfaction with democracy in the 2024 Latinobarómetro survey. Furthermore, voter turnout in the May 2024 presidential elections was approximately 54.4%, leaving nearly half of the registered electorate absent from the polls.