President Leonel Fernandez has appointed Roberto Rodriguez Marchena as the official government spokesman. Rodriguez explained that his post was created to make the flow of information to the Dominican press more expeditious. President Fernandez has been rarely available for comments to the local press, contrasting with the constant accessibility of his predecessor, President Hipolito Mejia. Rodriguez promised that any information not instantly available when requested by the press would be sought out by his office and forwarded.