El Caribe newspaper reports that Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch announced she would return to her post as Education Minister, after taking a seven-month leave to wage a bid for the PRD Presidential candidacy. The ministry has suffered in the past months from massive budgetary cuts and currently owes more than RD$130 million to suppliers for the vital breakfast program at the public schools and for the rentals of locations that accommodated 30,000 students in communities where public schools do not offer enough classrooms. Last September the assistance program that provided RD$300 a month to an estimated 100,000 mothers with children enrolled in public schools was cancelled. At one time, Vice President Ortiz was seen as the biggest threat to President Mejia for the PRD nomination, but she was no match for the President and his PPH supporters, who not only have managed to be the winner of the PRD primary recognized by the Central Electoral Board, but have in the process soiled Ortiz’ reputation. In a last-ditch attempt to become the party’s candidate, she became a strong supporter of the discredited Ley de Lemas provision that would have altered the electoral law to suit the interests of those contending with Mejia for the PRD nomination. The Ley de Lemas would enable up to five PRD politicians to run for the top office in the 16 May election.