Danilo, with success at the halfway point, but still faces challenges
Abel Guzmán Then
SD. These two years have been a long honeymoon in which the President has dealt with some thorny issues and reversed himself on some controversial measures. He has maintained his image as an accessible and "all-terrain" President.
President Danilo Medina arrives tomorrow at the halfway point of his administration, keeping his high level of popularity, with achievements in some sectors such as education and farming, but with huge challenges regarding public safety, the handling of the economy, public health and electricity.
Thesetwo years have been a long honeymoon. Medina has dealt with thorny problems which could have caused him a prolonged crisis in his administration, such as the renegotiation of the contract with the Barrick Gold gold-mining company, and all the national and international chatter regarding sentence 168 - 13 regarding the nationality of children of immigrants.
His strategy of projecting himself as an "all-terrain" President has worked, and he has been seen as being close to the people, supervising and pushing for the measures and solutions to national and local problems in the most remote areas of the country.
He is criticized, because on some issues he has reversed himself, such as the issue of the exploitation of the Bay of the Eagles (Bahía de ls Águilas) for tourism, and the construction of the Cibao - South Highway, measures that contradict his goal of promoting the arrival of 10 million tourists each year to the country.
One of the thorny issues that threaten to reduce his levels of popularity is that of the application of taxes and customs duties on purchases over the Internet of less than US $200, a measure that was taken by resolution at the Director General of Customs, alleging that the country had lost more than RD $20 billion in duties by maintaining these transactions duty-free.
The Medina image has been helped by the fact that his closest officials, such as the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramon Peralta, the Presidential Minister, Gustavo Montalvo, and the Minister of Public Works, Gonzalo Castillo, have kept up the pace of work at his side, and above all they are loyal officials without question in their performance.
In politics, the President has a difficult job ahead, since he should decide if he finally accepts the request by several officials in his entourage to push for a modification of the Constitution which will allow his re-nomination as presidential candidate of the PLD in the 2016 elections. These two years have translated into a strengthening of his leadership within the PLD, achieving a majority of the members within the more than 600 people in the Central Committee, and at least half of the 35 members of the Political Committee.
For many, his acceptance in society is because of his style of government, and the fact that his team is in power, all of which makes him the man who dominates the PLD structure.
If he finally concedes to the temptations of re-election, Medina will have to deal with as arbitrator or interested party, the clear aspirations of former President Leonel Fernandez; his a longtime ally, Reinaldo Pared Perez; his successful campaign manager, Francisco Javier; his excellent technician, Temistocles Montas, and one of the men who so far supports his reelection, Radhames Segura
Popularity and style
For the sociologist Celedonio Jimenez, the style of President Danilo Medina compared to that of Fernandez has produced for him greater popularity, since Fernandez distanced himself from popular causes, unlike Medina. The simple ‘close to the people' style "has made the people fall in love with him."
The decision to apply in the budget the 4% of the Gross Domestic Product for pre-university education, in addition to his literacy campaign, have also contributed to his popularity.
"There are a series of factors that are going to diminish the popularity of President Danilo Medina, who I believe works in good faith, but in politics they not only deal with good faith, but also with results, with executions," he argues.
Jimenez said that poverty, although they say it has gone down, this is not been perceived. "He is now reaching the end of the honeymoon, when the people see that central problems of their material existence have not been solved, and then evidently this popularity is going to decrease," he pointed out.
At the political level, within the PLD, he estimates that "a struggle between opponents is already suggested, this gesture by Minou is an expression of this, the appearance of several leaders that aspire to be chosen as candidates for the presidency and what has been said in this campaign shows that there is an internal conflict that will grow over time."
However, the historian Antinoe Fiallo feels that "they are placing emphasis on individual personalities, but when you go to the analysis of reality, you find that the situation of the country has not changed substantially, which is to say, the people have problems with their income, their Social Security, their public safety."
Fiallo points out that the people say that the situation is not good, then "I want you to explain to me how to interpret the popularity and balance this, if the majority of the judgments regarding the problems of Dominican society say that we are not well."
Miguel Vargas, president of the PRD
"They have not corrected what is wrong and they continued doing what is always been done, but with a different style than his predecessor. The basic problems continue without a tangible solution. We see a government more worried about its popularity in the polls, then responsibly resolving the problems."
Federico Antun Batlle, president of the PRSC
"These have been to fruitful years, this is a government that has shown sensitivity and closeness to the people, which has attended to sectors that were abandoned. There are many challenges ahead, there is the energy issue, and although they have made technological efforts, the lack of public safety has yet to be overcome."
President Danilo Medina arrives tomorrow at the halfway point of his administration, keeping his high level of popularity, with achievements in some sectors such as education and farming, but with huge challenges regarding public safety, the handling of the economy, public health and electricity.
Thesetwo years have been a long honeymoon. Medina has dealt with thorny problems which could have caused him a prolonged crisis in his administration, such as the renegotiation of the contract with the Barrick Gold gold-mining company, and all the national and international chatter regarding sentence 168 - 13 regarding the nationality of children of immigrants.
His strategy of projecting himself as an "all-terrain" President has worked, and he has been seen as being close to the people, supervising and pushing for the measures and solutions to national and local problems in the most remote areas of the country.
He is criticized, because on some issues he has reversed himself, such as the issue of the exploitation of the Bay of the Eagles (Bahía de ls Águilas) for tourism, and the construction of the Cibao - South Highway, measures that contradict his goal of promoting the arrival of 10 million tourists each year to the country.
One of the thorny issues that threaten to reduce his levels of popularity is that of the application of taxes and customs duties on purchases over the Internet of less than US $200, a measure that was taken by resolution at the Director General of Customs, alleging that the country had lost more than RD $20 billion in duties by maintaining these transactions duty-free.
The Medina image has been helped by the fact that his closest officials, such as the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramon Peralta, the Presidential Minister, Gustavo Montalvo, and the Minister of Public Works, Gonzalo Castillo, have kept up the pace of work at his side, and above all they are loyal officials without question in their performance.
In politics, the President has a difficult job ahead, since he should decide if he finally accepts the request by several officials in his entourage to push for a modification of the Constitution which will allow his re-nomination as presidential candidate of the PLD in the 2016 elections. These two years have translated into a strengthening of his leadership within the PLD, achieving a majority of the members within the more than 600 people in the Central Committee, and at least half of the 35 members of the Political Committee.
For many, his acceptance in society is because of his style of government, and the fact that his team is in power, all of which makes him the man who dominates the PLD structure.
If he finally concedes to the temptations of re-election, Medina will have to deal with as arbitrator or interested party, the clear aspirations of former President Leonel Fernandez; his a longtime ally, Reinaldo Pared Perez; his successful campaign manager, Francisco Javier; his excellent technician, Temistocles Montas, and one of the men who so far supports his reelection, Radhames Segura
Popularity and style
For the sociologist Celedonio Jimenez, the style of President Danilo Medina compared to that of Fernandez has produced for him greater popularity, since Fernandez distanced himself from popular causes, unlike Medina. The simple ‘close to the people' style "has made the people fall in love with him."
The decision to apply in the budget the 4% of the Gross Domestic Product for pre-university education, in addition to his literacy campaign, have also contributed to his popularity.
"There are a series of factors that are going to diminish the popularity of President Danilo Medina, who I believe works in good faith, but in politics they not only deal with good faith, but also with results, with executions," he argues.
Jimenez said that poverty, although they say it has gone down, this is not been perceived. "He is now reaching the end of the honeymoon, when the people see that central problems of their material existence have not been solved, and then evidently this popularity is going to decrease," he pointed out.
At the political level, within the PLD, he estimates that "a struggle between opponents is already suggested, this gesture by Minou is an expression of this, the appearance of several leaders that aspire to be chosen as candidates for the presidency and what has been said in this campaign shows that there is an internal conflict that will grow over time."
However, the historian Antinoe Fiallo feels that "they are placing emphasis on individual personalities, but when you go to the analysis of reality, you find that the situation of the country has not changed substantially, which is to say, the people have problems with their income, their Social Security, their public safety."
Fiallo points out that the people say that the situation is not good, then "I want you to explain to me how to interpret the popularity and balance this, if the majority of the judgments regarding the problems of Dominican society say that we are not well."
Miguel Vargas, president of the PRD
"They have not corrected what is wrong and they continued doing what is always been done, but with a different style than his predecessor. The basic problems continue without a tangible solution. We see a government more worried about its popularity in the polls, then responsibly resolving the problems."
Federico Antun Batlle, president of the PRSC
"These have been to fruitful years, this is a government that has shown sensitivity and closeness to the people, which has attended to sectors that were abandoned. There are many challenges ahead, there is the energy issue, and although they have made technological efforts, the lack of public safety has yet to be overcome."
Abel Guzmán Then
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