Leaders of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano met in Miami to resolve differences between the factions that hope to inherit the party from ailing leader Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez. Milagros Ortíz Bosch, the party’s candidate for senator of Santo Domingo, and presidential aspirants Hipólito Mejía and Rafael Suberví, as well as party secretary general Hatuey de Camps and party leaders Rafael Gamundi Cordero, Winston Arnaud, and Vicente Sánchez Baret, met with Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez at the David Williams Hotel in Miami, where Peña Gómez is staying, convalescing from cancer of the pancreas. The meeting was held primarily to resolve the crisis affecting the party after Peña Gómez did not accept Maríñez’s win as mayor of Santo Domingo – only 300 votes more than the other two contenders for the position – proclaiming himself candidate for mayor with Johnny Ventura as vice-mayor. Shortly after, he threatened to resign the candidacy if Julio Marínez was not expulsed from the party. Julio Maríñez had commented that Peña Gómez’s decision was against the democratic principles which should prevail in party decisions. Press reports had also carried versions that Peña Gómez’s wife, Peggy Cabral, was interested in the position of vice-mayor. The idea was for Rafael Suberví Bonilla, mayor of Santo Domingo, to agree to run again for that position, with Mrs. Peña as his running mate. The position of vice-mayor is important as it would replace the mayor should he not able to fulfill his responsibilities. While reports of Dominican physicians close to the candidate have revealed optimistic opinions that his condition is stable, none of the U.S. medics treating the politician have issued public statements. Furthermore, recent photographs of Peña Gómez show his health to be failing. The leaders of the party met with Peña Gómez for two days seeking to resolve the crisis. Following the meeting, Peña Gómez maintained his decision to run for mayor. At the meeting, Mejía and Suberví both agreed to postpone their efforts to publicize their presidential aspirations. Furthermore, during the meeting special responsibilities were assigned within the party to the aspirants for mayor for the different factions within the party – Julio Maríñez, Eligio Jáquez and Miguel Vargas Maldonado. The committee resolved to divide the city in four parts and delegated the administration of these sections to Julio Maríñez, appointed responsible for the northern part of the city; to Miguel Vargas for the southcentral part; to Eligio Jáquez, for the eastern part; and to Pedro Franco Badía and Tonty Rutinel, for the western section of the city.
