Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) presidential candidate Luis Abinader announced at 10pm on 10 March 2020 that he has chosen the Vice Rector for Business and Finance at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) as his running mate. 53-year old Raquel Peña Rodríguez is a well known Santiago province business person, but someone who previously had been unknown in the political world.
Since 2015, Peña has been responsible for the coordination and supervision of the human resources, purchasing, information technology services at the PUCMM, the largest private university in the Dominican Republic. At the PUCMM, she is also responsible for general security, health and environment, institutional marketing, economic aide and social and business innovation at the university. Likewise, the financial management of the university falls under her.
Prior to her career in education, Peña had been active in her family commerce and tobacco businesses and the Santiago industrial sectors. She is a shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of the Corporación Zona Franca del Norte industrial park in Santiago. She also serves on the board of director of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and the Central Park of Santiago, the new city park.
She was born on 10 September 1966 in Santiago. She studied at the Colegio de la Salle, and then completed a degree in business administration at the PUCMM. In 2002 she received a MBA from the University of Quebec at Montreal.
She is a widow of Marco José Antuña Cabral with whom she had three children: Rosa Estela, Marco José and Isabel Amelia.
During the press conference Abinader called to introduce his running mate, Peña Rodríguez said: “This nomination comes at a time in my life when I can turn my mind and heart to the honorable work of seeking the happiness and prosperity of all Dominican citizens. For many years it was clear to me that wherever I was, I had to serve the Dominican people.”
Recent polls show Luis Abinader having a comfortable lead in the 17 May election. Greenberg-Diario Libre had Abinader winning in a first round with 52% versus 24% of Gonzalo Castillo and 17% of Leonel Fernández.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nuevo Diario
El Dia
11 March 2020