In a television interview yesterday, President Hipolito Mejia said he hoped the country would not fall into the hands of civil society, because, in his words, they were “only looking for employment.” Mejia gave the example of other Latin American countries such as Brazil and Peru, which had experimented with solutions to political crises by bringing in non-political entities, and said that these attempts had not been successful. He referred to the proposed “Ley de Lemas” being advocated by certain elements of the ruling PRD as a preferential voting system, and compared it to the municipal and congressional elections in which each party was able to field more than one candidate. Nevertheless, he claimed that he was “not the father” of this electoral proposal and held off from discussing it in any depth, saying he preferred to wait until it had reached his desk. The controversial proposed law would permit a political party to present more than one candidate at the Presidential elections. The President said that his suggestion to the rival PRD pre-candidates that they pool their votes against his was an attempt to unify the PRD. In any case, said Mejia, “it is up to the electorate whether I return to Gurabo (his home town, near Santiago) to plant yuca, or whether I stay in this post.” The President dismissed questions about the crisis in state hospitals as media hype, saying in fact the hospitals were in an improved state compared to previous years. In a reply to questions from viewers, the President said he hoped he would have a year in which he would not have to close down banks, nor have the problems he has now with the CEA (state sugar council) and the electricity sector. Mejia went on to highlight what he termed as his administration’s achievements, including 300,000 new housing units, a nationwide road-building program, and support for sports infrastructure. The President blamed the high dollar rate on the activities of certain entities in the banking and exchange rate sector. Mejia alleged that an unnamed bank had taken out large external loans without state participation, and that “all the dollars that come in, go over there,” meaning to pay back the loan. The President described himself as a frank person who is not afraid of saying what he thinks: “I state my position directly, with all frankness? I have the obligation and the freedom to say what I think.” He was speaking on yesterday’s El Dia program on Channel 11, Telesistema.