An amateur video camera taped a recent pep talk that the President?s legal advisor Guido Gomez Mazara made to PRD party members in Samana. Hoy newspaper gives the story front page coverage today. The video was given to a news show on Channel 23 and one on Channel 13. It?s controversial because it shows the top ranking Mejia government officer strongly emphasizing the use of government funds for partisan politics. “First ourselves, then ourselves, afterwards ourselves, and if there is something left, ourselves also,” Gomez Mazara says repeatedly in his 17-minute long talk. Other controversial points raised are: If the PRD does not have a guarantee of keeping its 24 senators and all its deputies in the congressional and municipal elections of 2002, they would find a way to do this. “Regardless of what is being said outside on many matters, we are going to run the bases (bateo y corrido),” he said explaining the party needs to maintain its supremacy in the Senate, Chamber of Deputies and the municipalities. Analysts interpret this as the PRD majority in Congress would reform the Constitution to extend their period two more years as they have already threatened to do. Gomez Mazara also revealed a plan to modify the Constitution to lower the percentage to win the presidency in 2004 from 50 to 40% and to do so “above the head of whoever it may be, rain or shine.” He vowed that if between now and August the special commission named by President Hipolito Mejia on constitutional reform does not issue a report, they will push the bill through because they have the obligation, in honor of the memory of Pe?a Gomez, to work so that the party adjusts the electoral law to the needs of their political organization. He urged party members to make sure the medicines distributed by the government?s low-cost pharmaceuticals program, Promese, go to PRD members. He advised PRD members to use the Promipyme program, explaining that a RD$1 million loan obtained through that program is much better than a RD$5,000 a month government job. He said the program has RD$30 million to lend every month. He commented on the need to fire all PLD party members remaining in the government, saying that he can not conceive how some still remained in government posts. He revealed their notices are forthcoming directly from the National Palace. He said that the worst PRD government employee is better than having a PLD or PRSC employee in government. In his talk, Guido Gomez Mazara recognized that “the only way that in 2004 the party will stay in power is if President Mejia makes good government.” He said that the PRD did not take power to do all the shameless things (“vagabunderias”) that other parties were criticized for. “We reached government to do things correctly,” he said. After the Mejia administration scored poorly in an opinion poll published in early May, Gomez Mazara called a meeting of the PRD to defend the government of Hipolito Mejia. The gathering had to be called off after party leaders said Gomez Mazara did not use proper party channels to call the meeting.
