Hipólito Mejía, vice president of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, said he is taking a leave of absence from that post. Mejía is the leading aspirant to the post of candidate on the PRD ticket in the year 2000 presidential elections. Recently, the party ruled that those that aspire to be the presidential candidate of the party and occupy directorship positions within the party do not have to resign. Mejía is a former minister of agriculture in the 1978-82 government PRD of the late President Antonio Guzmán and an agribusiness man.
