Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo is backing the construction of the metro. He said that as soon as the plans reach the city government, these would be approved by the Urban Planning Office. He said he was convinced when he learned about the successes of the metros in Chile and Venezuela. He trusts that the system will be a solution to the deficit in seats in the public transport in the city. Salcedo spoke when receiving the visit of the deans of INTEC and Catolica Santo Domingo universities and the executive director of the Participacion Ciudadana civic society group at his office. They visited to receive explanations on the First Strategic Congress of the City of Santo Domingo, scheduled for 16 March with the participation of mayors from Latin America and local universities. During the meeting, Altagracia Lopez of INTEC and Javier Cabreja of PC commented that in their opinion the metro was not a priority for national development. In their opinion, the government should prioritize funds to education, health, urban renewal and job creation, as well as the electricity crisis. Father Ramon Alonso refused to comment on the metro, mentioning that he didn’t know enough about it.