Dominican Senator Félix Bautista Calls for Decriminalizing Defamation, Replacing Prison with Fines

Senator Félix Bautista of San Juan introduced a proposal in the Dominican Senate to remove prison sentences for defamation, insult and related offenses and to replace them with monetary penalties. He pointed to regional examples – Argentina and Panama impose economic fines, Peru adds social‑service components, and Nicaragua also uses financial sanctions – to argue for a similar model in the Dominican Republic.

Bautista cited a recent speech by U.S. Ambassador Leah Campos, who described freedom of expression as “the oxygen of democracy.” He reminded legislators that the Dominican Constitution, particularly article 49, guarantees unrestricted expression without prior censorship. The proposal also calls for a bicameral commission to study amendments to the new Criminal Code (Law 74‑25), with jurist Cristóbal Rodríguez emphasizing the need to preserve legal certainty, eliminate vague offenses, and consider related issues such as corporate liability, medical practice, gender‑based violence and abortion regulations.