When residents in the DR, returning from enjoying the long Virgen de la Altagracia-Duarte Day holiday week, tuned on the evening news last night they witnessed the latest episode in the confrontation amongst political parties. The fight over who will control the Dominican Municipal League. Those tuning in saw how Senator Ram?n Alburquerque, totally oblivious to the dignity of his post as president of the Dominican Senate, violently forced his way to get into the Dominican Municipal League headquarters, to which entrance of persons not employed there has been banned since Saturday after the PRD threatened to occupy the locale.As the irrational fight among Dominican politicians continues, most Dominicans observed with frustration how these go for their throats for personal and party gains that will benefit the population very little if in any way. At stake for the politicians is the post of secretary general of the Dominican Municipal League, the organization that oversees the 4% of the National Budget allotted to city governments, or about RD$6,000 million (about US$400 million). The contenders for the post are Julio Mar??ez, for the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, the majority opposition party, and Amable Aristy Castro, for the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano. The ruling Partido de la Liberaci?n Dominicana is supporting the aspirations of Aristy Castro. Also affecting Mar??ez’s aspirations is that the PRD vote is a divided party, thus it is said that PRD delegates can easily be persuaded to vote for the competition. While the PRD won 95 of 115 city governments, the way the election is organized — 17 delegates representing the so-called Sala Capitular of each city hall, or the governing body of each city halls, vote for the secretary general — making it possible for a united PRSC and PLD to override the aspirations of the PRD’s Mar??ez to be re-elected. Mar??ez himself, who is now running for re-election, was elected to the post on 26 January 1995 when PLD delegates joined the PRD, voting against the PRSC that had won the most city governments at the time. While the PRSC and its leader, President of the Republic Joaqu?n Balaguer at the time, gracefully accepted defeat then as fair political game play, the PRD has said it has no intention of losing. The party that wins gets to control most of the 4% of the National Budget allotments made to city governments. More so, because the PRD is majority in Congress, this allotment could be increased to a hefty 10% this year, giving PRD city governments more leeway to campaign and position themselves for the quest for the presidency in the year 2000 elections. The LMD election is slated for today, 26 January, Juan Pablo Duarte Day. The PRD earlier enacted a judicial opposition to the celebration of the election. Furthermore, the Minister of Interior and Police Ram?n Andr?s Blanco Fern?ndez, who by law presides over the Assembly where the voting is to take place, has invalidated the decision to hold the elections at the headquarters of the LMD and instead has instructed they be held in the city hall of San Pedro de Macor?s. Mar??ez says this is illegal, and that the Assembly organizing committee had already decided to hold it in Santo Domingo. Moreso, over the weekend Police were stationed outside the LMD headquarters to impede a takeover by the PRD, or as Minister Blanco put it, "to impede public order disturbances." The press reported that likewise vigilance was ordered for city governments to avoid disorders. Hoy newspaper reported on Monday, that water, electricity and telephone services were suspended to the LMD headquarters and the City Hall of Santo Domingo. A Police agent tore the shirt of Johnny Ventura, mayor of Santo Domingo, when he forcibly insisted in entering the LMD headquarters on Saturday afternoon. The police agent said that he had orders to not allow anyone but Julio Mar??ez and LMD officers to enter. Ventura remains within the LMD headquarters since then. His jeep was towed away by the Police. Minister Blanco ordered the police to stand guard citing statements made by PRD directors Tonty Rutinel and Rafael Gamundi that they would send in 300,000 PRD members to occupy the headquarters to impede their losing of the secretary general post. On Monday evening, television showed the president of the Senate, Ram?n Alburquerque violently fend his way to get into the LMD, despite the orders given. A big man, he bodily confronted the chief of the Police, An?bal Sanz Jimini?n, until the order was given to let him in. The Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas, to persuade others to desist from their violent intents to enter the LMD. In the process, three journalists and PRD Senator Andr?s Bautista were injured. It was anarchy, an embarrassing display of irrationality. The dispute among the political parties has impeded the organization of the assembly and the actual election and political analysts forecast what may result is that two secretary generals will be elected on Tuesday — Amable Aristy Castro and Julio Mar??ez. The delegates that are expected to vote for Aristy Castro have been housed at the Hotel Macorix of San Pedro de Macor?s, and those favoring Mar??ez are hosted at the Hotel Embajador in Santo Domingo, both with all expenses paid. The nation’s leading arbiter of political conflicts, Monsignor Agripino N??ez Collado, rector of the Pontificia Universidad Cat?lica Madre y Maestra met with representatives of the three leading political parties — PLD, PRD and PRSC — on Sunday at his home. On Monday, he went to the site of the LMD, but his appeals for rationality were not heard. Hoy newspaper reported that the PRSC rejected the proposal of the PRD to postpone the election for 6 February and to appoint a neutral electoral commission. In a live TV newscast on Cadena de Noticias, President Leonel Fern?ndez, interviewed by journalist Mar?a Elena N??ez explained the conflict as he sees it. He said that while the PRD won the municipal elections, the party does not accept that that win does not automatically mean they have to preside the LMD. He explained that an election must take place and political forces can align themselves differently to the interests of PRD leadership. PRD dissidents can align with opposition parties, as occurred in 1995, when Mar??ez himself was elected. President Fern?ndez said that in the mind of the PRD, the election is unnecessary and in the mind of the PRD leadership the other parties do not even have the right to aspire to win the post. Fern?ndez said, "Democracy is competition. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Democracy is knowing how to lose."The President urged that the problem of the LMD not be over dimensioned. "It is not worth putting social peace in danger," he said. The PRD leadership has been urging party members to take to the streets to start protesting for the cost of living and other issues in order to pressure the government, thus affecting social peace. President Fern?ndez urged that Dominican politicians focus on concepts. "This is not a problem of life or death, Dominican society has little to gain," said the statesman. "It is but another episode in the struggle of political parties to control institutions." So far, the struggle particularly affects residents in the vicinity of the LMD that have had trouble entering their apartments. The Police fired tear gas to control the group of PRD fanatics that violently sought to burst into the LMD. Meanwhile, Dominicans look on disgusted. As one resident said on Channel 7 newscast last night, "for politicians nothing is good, only politicians."What will happen? It is likely that two municipal league secretary generals will be elected today. The ruling party, the PLD, endorsing Amable Aristy Castro of the PRSC. Julio Mar??ez is likely to take the case to the Supreme Court contesting the decision, and the interruption of the funding of his LMD by the government. Meanwhile, the LMD will lose its institutionality, with the government probably overriding both institutions and funding the municipalities directly as the fight is played over in newspaper headlines and TV news. As on Tuesday, 26 January morning, political news commentator Alfredo Freites said, "the show has only just begun." Who is who?The Ultima Hora published biographies of Julio Mar??ez and Amable Aristy Castro in their Sunday edition. Julio Mar??ez. Julio Mar??ez was born 11 October 1939, and has been a member of the PRD since 1961. He was born in Peravia province of a well-off family of landowners. He studied at the Politecnico Loyola in San Crist?bal and graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Universidad Aut?noma de Santo Domingo carrying out subsequent post graduate studies in Brazil. He has had his own engineering firms, has been an official at the State Sugar Council (CEA), GEPLACEA and the Dominican College of Engineers (CODIA). He was incidental to the LMD’s obtaining the 4% allotment of the National Budget that gives new stature to city governments and allows them more control over their effectiveness, reducing their dependence on the central government. Mar??ez had aspired to be the party’s candidate to mayor in the 1998 municipal elections. He allegedly won by such a narrow margin that party leader, the late Dr. Jos? Francisco Pe?a G?mez, despite a fatal illness, chose to run for mayor appointing Johnny Ventura to be his replacement. Amable Aristy Castro. Forty-nine year old Amable Aristy Castro was born to a poor family in the East. His father was a chauffeur. Today he is one of the most wealthiest men in the East, and his fortune has been questioned in the local press for his land dealings along the Punta Cana coastline, but judicial investigations have not been pursued. He is known as a kingpin in the East, and for his successful political career. He graduated from high school and worked his way up from helping at the small grocery store of an uncle, to being an employee of the municipality, the Higuey district attorney’s office, and at a branch of the Banco Popular. When he was 21 years old, he was a dealer of Santo Domingo Motors, and had two passenger vehicles to transport people to Santo Domingo. Three years later he owned a gas station. Today he owns Amable Motors, the dealership that sells the most motorcycles in the country. He joined the PRSC in 1976, working his way up to be chosen deputy and then senator for his province. He presided over the Senate on two occasions and has had the honor of having sworn in two Presidents as president of the National Assembly — President Joaqu?n Balaguer and President Leonel Fern?ndez. At present he is senator for his province of La Altagracia.
