How tough is it to get into office in DR?

Stay out....

mdipresreyes said:

First off, I am a new here and this is my first thread...

I keep seeing the lack of energy, schooling, water, and just plain, old fashion daily necessities in my country. How tough would it be to get into office there??? I was born there, but had to move to the US when I was 5 (no choice there for me... :cheeky and I would like to go back and help out. Who should I be plugged in with if I want to start off by helping with schooling? I am a firm believer that knowledge is power, and by bringing better education to the kids, there may be a powerful output in the future.

Am I climbing a mountain too high? I am just a little "no one" with a heart that wants to help. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get started?

Thanks,

MD

Click to expand...

Your intentions are good, but the realities of politics and public office here will soon slap you in the face. I assume you would like to be a public servant of some kind, but unless you have a known last name, many connections, tons of money, or have been working in the system for years the chances for you getting into the game are slim and the chances of you making a real difference are even slimmer.

You must realize a few things about politics in the DR, and around the world. The smart, good hearted people rarely go into politics, they go into private business and or NGO type of work.

You must also realize that government here is about MONEY. Who has it and how can you get it. Plain and simple. So unless you are willing to play that game, the powers that be will make sure you don't go far.

If you really want to make a difference, I suggest you do local community work and do grassroots type of efforts.

Politics, in the DR, is for the greedy and simple minded. There are some in the game who are actually doing well and are honest folk who are making a difference, but unless you have been here for years, and really understand the dynamics of the DR political beast, I suggest stay out. It can eat you alive.

But who knows, you might have what it takes to get into the game and make a real difference. Take the challenge if you wish and good luck.


Mr. Lu

I know this may be a bit difficult on several levels, but who are those "who are actually doing well and are honest folk who are making a difference," Mr. Lu. Perhaps the OP and others who are concerned can network with them and provide some support.

One of the answers to my question appears in today's DR1.com/News:

"Deputy criticizes colleagues

Speaking during yesterday afternoon's session of the Constitutional Revisory Assembly, PLD legislator Isabel Bonilla said that with the latest decisions during the second reading of the new Constitution, Congress is just earning the public's contempt. She said that these latest changes went against what had been approved in the first sessions and had enjoyed a broad consensus.
Upon announcing that she would not register to stand for any PLD party office, she said that the assembly members are acting "like idiots" as they support the proposals that have been imposed by the PLD and the PRD without arguments. "It seems that they have put a tape on their heads that says that they are prohibited from thinking", and suggested that the parties wanted the dumbest possible deputies."

aCTUALLY THE TERM she used was "borregos" which can refer to dumb sheep, simpleton. The "diccionario" refers to a "mujer borrega" (simple blond in US usage).

And she is absolutely right.

Anyway, MD, you can probably do more by helping or building a school some place.

As far a politics goes, see Diogenes & Bocachivo in Diario Libre....a truly brillant take on the DR political scene...

HB

En la tierra del ciego el tuerto es rey.

Most politicians here are like kids in a sand pit.
Throw sand in each others eyes until only one can half see, and he then gets to ride the bicycle that all are fighting over, taking his half blind buddies along as well. The bigger problem: most of the population here turns a willing bling eye to it all, while they talk all day on the cell phones as the kids cry for milk. Here people take special strides to appear as something that they are not- all appearances.

As a previous post states, if you try to run a straight line, others will put blocks in your path along the way. If you have every experience government run countries in Africa, you will understand how things are run in the Dominican Republic.

Sometimes, one thinks it would be less painful to hammer nails into his head.

Mr Lu

Weren't we just talking about finding a "few good men/women" to get involved in Dominican politics? We have to start somewhere.