The former president of the DR and PRSC leader, Dr. Joaqu?n Balaguer, was in classic form during an interview broadcast yesterday by CBS. The interview by journalist Ra?l Peimbert of the program "Am?rica habla" had been conducted in Miami before Dr. Balaguer returned to Santo Domingo last Friday. Dr. Balaguer’s statements on a wide variety of topics made front-page news this morning on all three major dailies of the DR. Among other things, he did not discount being nominated by his party to run for President in the year 2000 elections. While saying he was not "indispensable," he asserted that he was "useful" because of his 22 years running the country and that people tended to look to him "because they know I’m not going to serve myself, but rather that I’m going to serve my country." As customary with Dr. Balaguer, he said he would bow to "popular will" on the question of whether or not he should run for office again.Some of the topics covered:President Fern?ndez: "We meet, talk often."Dr. Jos? Francisco Pe?a G?mez, the former PRD leader who died in 1998: "He was a great politician. A great political figure because he was an intelligent man and always accessible. With me he maintained cordial relations. He attacked me fiercely but at heart we understood each other very well. We made many agreements together and we had almost the same opinions. He was a man of the extreme left many times but he knew how to evolve toward the center and he became my ally many times, in spite of the fact we appeared to be enemies."Juan Bosch: "A different character…Bosch is very rigid in his concepts, in his opinions. He is a great writer. A great intelligence, a great citizen, but he does not have like Pe?a G?mez [did] the policies necessary to govern the Dominican Republic."Accusations of Fraud in Prior Elections: That’s a myth. There [in the DR] they always accuse one of fraud in every election…those that lose always use [accusations of fraud] to justify their losses."Honesty in government: "All countries look for rulers who are honorable. They are anxious to be governed by honest people that do not have money as their goal…There will never be, and could never be, a more honest person managing the State’s funds than me. Of that I am proud."His health: "The results of those tests [in Houston] were that I have no serious illness. I have a sound body in spite of my 92 years. The only serious problem for me is my eyesight."Relations with the U.S.: "It is necessary for Latin America to have a better understanding with the U.S., because in the end the greatest weight on the history of our countries has been this country, the U.S. There has been a poor understanding because many times American policy has not been well oriented or well-informed…I believe that [relations] have improved much and they have to improve. There is a better understanding now than before."Fidel Castro: "My best advice [to him] would be to retire already because Cuba needs to grow, to expand, to have full freedom and to live at the same levels as the rest of the American nations."
