Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia says that the PLD’s 35-member Political Committee needs to reach a decision during its Sunday, 19 April 2015 meeting. In an interview with El Caribe, he said the issue is dividing the party. According to his analysis, while running again does not suit Medina personally or the PLD party, it would be good for the country.
Garcia has been the party’s campaign director on five previous occasions when the PLD won the elections. This time round he has announced his own plans to run for the PLD.
In the interview, he complained nevertheless that it should not be the PLD party that denies Medina the opportunity for re-election.
“It is in the people’s interest for Danilo to continue in government, to govern for four more years,” he said, adding his voice to the supporters of re-election. For this to happen, the 2010 Constitution would need to be changed. The Constitution was changed to allow former Presidents to run again, but consecutive re-election was banned.
“It is in the interest of the Dominican people for Danilo to govern for four more years to complete his government work in eight years. Because if Leonel [Fernandez] had the opportunity to develop his government in eight years, why should Danilo [Medina] be being denied that opportunity?”
He admitted that on a personal level, re-election is not in Medina’s best interests. “Personally it would suit him to end his government on 16 August 2016. The level of personal and family sacrifice that he has had to make is extraordinary because no president in the history of the country has taken on so many big and little things.”
At the same time, he said it is not the best thing for the PLD for Medina to run again.
“The best thing for the PLD would be a new candidate, because new leaderships are like columns in buildings,” he said. “In Latin America all the great political parties built their leadership on a single individual. That individual disappeared and the party was gone. Here we have the example of the Partido Reformista. With Joaquin Balaguer gone, the party has a 3% following.”
Garcia expressed his optimism that the ruling party would be able to negotiate with opposition party legislators in order to achieve the number of votes needed for a re-election bill to pass in Congress.
Garcia said that the PLD and the party leaders must not forget Leonel Fernandez’s merits and accomplishments. He recalled that it was Fernandez who first took the party to power in 1996, and then brought the party back after it had lost an election.
Furthermore he commented: “No one thought that Danilo would have carried out such a good government.” He added: “Nobody thought we were going to have the most popular President in Latin America.”
Garcia says that if Danilo does not accept the re-election bid, he will redouble his own efforts to be the next President of the Republic.
Francisco Javier: “Al pueblo le conviene que Danilo siga gobernando”