Ubaldo Guzmán Molina in a political commentary for the newspaper Hoy reports that the campaigns of the three principal presidential candidates PRD, PLD and PRSC have been carried out in a very professional way, free from low blows, and primarily responding to marketing criteria. He explains this is because the organizations are relying on trained professionals to carry out their campaign strategies. The political analyst says the country has come a long way compared to previous campaigns that were based on insults and personal attacks.
Donald Rowland, director of Marketing magazine, says that the parties are aware of the importance of marketing techniques to promote their candidates and parties, and thus are using professionals who rationalize the use of communications and the strategic positioning of the political candidate they are selling to the population.
Pablo Ross, a political marketing expert, says that the three candidates have specific themes and foci: Peña of the PRD is being sold under the banner of “primero la gente” which translates into “the people first”; Jacinto Peynado of the PRSC is stressing that he will “poner las cosas en orden”‘ or will “put things in order”; and Leonel Fernandez of the PLD will “bring back respect for the people.”
Pablo Ross says Leonel Fernandez is selling himself as the living expression of Dominican youth, as a modest boy from the middle class. José Francisco Peña Gómez, he says, is a candidate that is neither old nor young, but has all the international relations to help the country get going, and Jacinto Peynado is selling himself as a successful businessman who can repeat his success in managing the country.