Ana Mitila Lora writes in her “Mochila al Hombro” column in Listin Diario today on the concern that patronage practices are deeply entrenched in the Dominican way of doing politics. She says this is evident in the supposed conditions that secretary general of the PRD, Rafael Subervi Bonilla, would have made to President Hipolito Mejia to join his re-election campaign. Lora reports that what has been said, and not disputed by anyone, is that Subervi requested, in exchange for his support, several department head positions, including the chair of the ministries of education, agriculture, interior & police, tourism, the superintendence of insurance, and the New York City consulate, among others, and all in case the PRD retains power. Writes Lora: “If these versions are true, this is about distributing real estate parcels in the Dominican state. But it would not be the first time that this formula is used as strategy to keep the political clientele satisfied.” On a lesser pesimistic note, she says that crisis should inspire change. She ends her column by saying, “We hope that the one engulfing us now will generate solid changes in Dominican society and that situations we see as ‘normal’ today might be rejected by various sectors of society. Only then will the political parties change their direction.”