Danilo Medina, presidential candidate for the ruling Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, chose Secretary of Agriculture Amilcar Romero as his running mate. Amilcar Romero is considered a man close to former President Joaquín Balaguer and his family. The PLD candidate needs the PRSC votes to win the presidency. Prior to accepting the nomination, Romero consulted with the former statesman. Romero is seen as one of the most successful agriculture ministers of all times. He is credited with delivering an outstanding harvest following the devastating effects of Hurricane Georges on Dominican agriculture in September 1998. Romero, a agriculture and business administration graduate, is a former administrator of the Banco Agrícola and the Corporación Dominicana de Electricidad, the state electricity utility during Balaguer administrations. For many years he was a top executive at Fertilizantes Químicos Dominicanos, a fertilizer company, prior to returning to government when requested by President Leonel Fernández. It is the first time that the PLD chooses a person outside of the party for the vice presidential candidate. Medina recently had a far better showing during the Uno + Uno televised interviews that matched him separately against contender Hipólito Mejía, who leads in the polls. With the announcement of Romero, Balaguer’s PRSC remains the only one of the three majority parties yet to announce its vice presidential candidate. The deadline to do so is 15 March at 12 midnight.
