President Hipolito Mejia described the two-day nationwide strike programmed for Wednesday, 28 January and Thursday, 29 January as “cheap politics and demagoguery.” He said that the pseudo-union representatives have frequently made appeals for strike action to achieve political capital. The leading union mouthpieces during the Fernandez government, Juan Hubieres of Fenatrano and Antonio Marte of Conatra, have indeed retired from the Coordinadora de Organizaciones Populares y Sindicales after reaping billions of pesos worth of new vehicle fleets for their members, paid for by the government. Mejia said he would respect the upcoming strike with the same flexibility he had for the 11 November strike of last year. He said that while he shares the concerns for the difficult economic situation that the country is suffering, naturally, the players involved do not have the moral capacity to speak on behalf of the Dominican people. He said those behind the strike hope only to “fish in troubled waters,” and take advantage of the people’s discontent given the difficult times. Narciso Isa Conde, a former president of the Dominican Communist Party, and Ramon Perez Figuereo, a transport union leader, take credit for the organization of the strike. President Mejia spoke on the “Una Vez a la Semana” TV program. This would be the fourth strike called by the Coordinadora de Organizaciones Populares y Sindicales against the Mejia government. El Caribe reports that the previous three strikes (19 June 2001, 4 February 2003, 11 November 2003) produced no change in government economic policies. The last strike, which took place on 11 November, was generally peaceful, although seven Dominicans died in police clashes in low-income barrios.