Maria Teresa Cabrera, the former presidential candidate for the Frente Amplio, explained on the ZolFM morning talk show the reasons why her fellow party companion, Amparo Custodio resigned from the position of vice mayor to not accept the position of mayor in La Vega. The position became vacant when surprisingly, President Luis Abinader named Mayor Kelvin Cruz to be his Minister of Sports from 2024 to 2028.
Cruz had won his third term as mayor of La Vega. In all three terms, Custodio had been his running mate.
An experienced politician and city government officer, Custodio is not of the same political party as Cruz. Cabrera explained that she was told she would have to swear as a PRM party member. This did not sit well with Custodio and she resigned.
Custodio comes from the teacher union world, as does Maria Teresa Cabrera and both represent the same minority political party, Frente Amplio.
Cabrera says the problem was that already the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) had its idea who should get the position, and this meant they would not support a city government led by Custodio. The PRM has 12 of the 17 city councillors. In addition, almost all the staff are active PRM members.
Cabrera spoke for Custodio and said her friend and fellow party member understood that while the position was legally hers because she was the vice mayor, she understood that without the support of the PRM she would be leading the city government to a paralysis, which would not be good for the city of La Vega. She said Custodio is proud of the many programs she led as vice mayor of La Vega.
Given the underlying pressures, Custodio announced she would be returning to work full-time as a biology professor with the state university.
Meanwhile, the secretary general of the La Vega government is the acting mayor, Joel Martinez.
Reports from La Vega are that the employees at the confusion is such that city government are concerned they may not even get paid on 25 August.
Meanwhile, as the story develops, Víctor D’Aza, president of the Liga Municipal Dominicana (LMD), announced that the leadership of the Partido Revolucionario Moderno (PRM) has formed a committee to address the situation in the La Vega Mayor’s Office.
The PRM committee tasked with finding a solution includes Antoliano Peralta, Legal Consultant to the Executive Branch; Eddy Olivares, PRM Executive Vice President; and Víctor D’Aza himself.
D’Aza shared this update following a meeting at the PRM’s National Headquarters, which also covered other reform initiatives led by President Luis Abinader.
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22 August 2024