The World - News from Feb. 7, 1985

A shopkeepers’ strike to protest government austerity programs including a devaluation of the peso spread through parts of the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo, already virtually paralyzed by private-transport operators who shut down because of huge increases in fuel costs. The main business district was virtually deserted, and widespread closings were reported in other cities. However, Dominican President Salvador Jorge Blanco told members of his executive committee that the situation was under “total control.”