It’s official. On Tuesday, 4 February 2020, Hugo Beras announced his support for Carolina Mejía, the daughter of former President of the Republic Hipólito Mejía, who is running for mayor for the National District on the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) ticket. Carolina Mejia is the secretary-general of the PRM, but is a newbie to city government management. Beras is a professional communicator and a local transit expert. Previously, he had been critical to the administration of Mayor David Collado. Now he announces he is joining Collado’s team. Collado is backing Carolina Mejía for mayor of the capital city.
Before the switch in party allegiances, Beras had been running for National District mayor on the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). He resigned on Monday, 3 February 2020 to instead back Mejía.
Carolina Mejia and Hugo Beras said they have formed the Alliance for Santo Domingo. Beras said in the press conference on 4 February that he commits to work non-stop to ensure a win for Mejia on 16 February 2020.
Beras said that he belongs to a new era of politics and citizens that live with purpose, aiming to do good and leave positive marks. He did not give details on the reasons that motivated him to choose to back Carolina Mejía.
For her part, Carolina Mejia thanked the former PRD candidate for his support and confessed that from the beginning Beras had unfolded a good electoral campaign and municipal project.
Meanwhile, in a separate press conference, Miguel Vargas, president of the PRD, announced on the same Tuesday, 4 February the signing of an agreement with the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) to support that party’s candidate for mayor of the National District, Domingo Contreras. This pact was made in response to Hugo Beras’ resignation from the PRD party candidacy. Vargas Maldonado called Beras’ resignation “unjustifiable and irresponsible.”
“Despite the monolithic support of the entire party structure in the capital, the backing received by the national leadership of the party and all the political support possible, the person who held the candidacy for mayor, in an unjustifiable action by any citizen who intends to serve the country from a public function, irresponsibly informed us that he will not continue to lead his project,” said Vargas, who is president of the PRD but also the Minister of Foreign Relations for the Dominican Republic.
Vargas Maldonado urged his party colleagues to now vote for Contreras, saying that this candidate represents the best option for the city of Santo Domingo.
The PRD has been a political ally of the ruling PLD since 2015, when the party supported a constitutional amendment project to allow the re-election of President Danilo Medina.
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5 February 2020