In accepting the responsibility to campaign for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) faction representing the followers of President Danilo Medina, former Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said on Sunday, 8 September 2019 in the evening: “I want to thank all those who elected me and also those who voted for the other pre-candidates. We are all part of the same team and we will continue to work together to win the primaries on 6 October.”
Castillo was the last to announce his aspirations to run for the Presidency on the PLD ticket. Castillo was selected to represent Medina followers in the PLD primary scheduled for 6 October 2019. He will compete against former President Leonel Fernandez.
Only fellow pre-candidate Temístocles Montás was present for his announcement. During the press conference, the PLD did not share the technical details. The actual numbers of the polls were not presented to the public.
The remaining pre-candidates now have until 10 September to resign their aspirations to participate in the primary set for 6 October 2019.
59-year old Gonzalo Castillo is from Barahona. He graduated from the Instituto Politécnico Loyola high school in industrial electronics, and did his university studies in digital electronics at the PUCMM in Santo Domingo. He has a masters degree from the University of Quebec. He was appointed Minister of Public Works during the start of the Medina administration in 2012. His replacement has not yet been named. He had announced he would run for the Presidency on 8 September 2019. He was one of the most active supporters of President Danilo Medina’s efforts to promote a third term for Medina. Castillo announced his aspirations after Medina declined running for office in 2020.
Temístocles Montás says Castillo will receive the backing of most of the party echelons gathered in the Political Committee and the Central Committee.
The spokesman for the Presidency, Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, said that Castillo “is a political and electoral phenomenon.”
“Gonzalo embodies the majority that was prevented from voting for Danilo, who wants to keep what he has and keep moving forward,” Rodríguez Marchena tweeted on Sunday.
On the other hand, the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramón Peralta commented that Castillo is the candidate of the majority of the PLD within the framework of the consensus. “With his leadership, we will continue the construction of a fair, strong, modern and balanced nation,” he said.
Francisco Domínguez Brito, the highest ranked pre-candidate before the launching of the pre-candidacy of Gonzalo Castillo, said he would keep his word and would honor the agreement to back the winner of the polls.
Pre-candidate Andrés Navarro was prompt to express his backing of Castillo. “You will be the representative of our team in the primaries and I will be with you with all my structure, for the good of our party and our nation,” he said.
Meanwhile, former President Leonel Fernandez over the weekend expressed confidence that he will win the primary. Other pre-candidates that registered for the primaries are Melanio Paredes and Manuel Crespo.
Read more in Spanish:
Hoy
El Dia
Hoy
El Caribe
N Digital
9 September 2019