The People’s Force (FP) was born in 2020 when former president of the then ruling Dominican Liberation Party split from the party arguing fraud in the PLD primary in October. But now the leadership of the PLD and that of the FP have something they agree on. They oppose President Luis Abinader’s proposal that political parties be included in the belt-tightening to release funds for social needs. Abinader has proposed a 50% reduction in the allotment to political parties in 2021.
Spokespeople for the political parties say they favor austerity for the Dominican people, but consider that “democracy” should not have to suffer.
The law determines that this year two majority parties — the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) and the PLD would have an equal share of 80% of the RD$1.5 billion allotments for political parties in 2021 as per Law 275-97. This is so because these parties received 5% of the vote. The FP would receive less.
As reported in Diario Libre, Jose Francisco Peña Guaba, of the minority party, Social Institutional Block (BIS) estimated that Law 275-97 means that the PRM and the PLD would receive RD$21 million a month in political funding.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
El Dia
21 October 2020