World Notes DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

When elections were held last week in the Dominican Republic, the two closest contenders for President were old -- very old -- rivals: Joaquin Balaguer, 82 and blind with glaucoma, the current leader, and Juan Bosch, 80, a Marxist and former President who now endorses capitalism as the way to cure the country's economy.

Early returns gave the feisty Bosch the lead, but by week's end, with nearly 87% of the votes counted, Balaguer had squeaked ahead with 11,000 votes. Declaring the election a "colossal fraud," Bosch called for massive demonstrations. Says a Dominican pollster: "It appears that the elder of the dinosaurs has won."

But has he? At week's end both candidates agreed to a recount, and official results will not be known for several days. Whoever is finally declared the winner, the task at hand will be daunting: inflation is running at more than 50%, and the overall standard of living is on the decline.