The centre-left government of President Leonel Fernández has begun to stabilise the economy, renegotiating relationships with foreign creditors and bringing order to fiscal accounts after the disastrous administration of Hipólito Mejía. The economy has revived and Mr Fernández, enjoys high popularity ratings. However, Chinese competition in manufacturing has put the textiles industry under fierce pressure and agriculture remains in the doldrums. The main challenge is to create more jobs and ease poverty levels that are high, even by Latin American standards. - -