Hoy newspaper reported that there are two factions within the PRD political party. The newspaper reports there are four groups seeking control of the political party. Two of these groups – Rafael Subervi Bonilla and Hatuey Decamps – do not accept the presidency of Enmanuel Esquea Guerrero. Esquea Guerrero has tried to implement party decisions based on the rules and bylaws of the party. In the past, the party was ruled by the on-the-spot decisions of the late Dr. Jose Francisco Peña Gomez, who was flexible on many occasions, but was known as the strong man within the party. Recently, Esquea Guerrero appointed Rafael Flores Estrella, provisionally in charge of finances. This decision had the support of Milagros Ortiz Bosch, Hipolito Mejia and Rafael Subervi Bonilla, the three other leading aspirants for the presidency. Flores replaced Miguel Vargas Maldonado, deemed a man of the trust of Hatuey Decamps. Meanwhile, Hatuey Decamps has been criticized by other presidential aspirants for not taking a leave of absence from his role as secretary general of the party, a condition deemed as necessary for any aspirant to be chosen the party’s presidential candidate for the year 2000 elections.
