Miguel Vargas Maldonado says "there will be no re-election here"
In an interview with Diario Libre he talks about crime, justice and other issues
SANTO DOMINGO. "I do not believe in destiny, I believe in work and if the fulfillment of the commitment by President Fernandez, in order for the phrase "nevermore" to be eliminated, when it was agreed that he would not present himself for the next period after his current one", said the president of the PRD, Miguel Vargas Maldonado, upon being questioned by the Diario Libre regarding the issue of re-election.
DL: Is President Fernandez going to run or not?
MVM:
MVM: The indefinite re-election in America is a thing of the past; in Colombia, Uribe, the most admired president in Colombia's history, with a 74% approval rating, in the face of institutional risks, the Constitutional Court told him "no"; in Brazil, the most popular president in the world, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, by his own decision, decided not to run, and in Chile, Bachlet, who ended her period as the most popular leader in contemporary history, also refused to seek re-election. Only those that aspire to be the new-style dictators do not leave office, and this is not going to happen here.
DL: But many interpret the Constitution as if there were an opening....
MVM: The Dominican Constitution is not open to interpretations-the re-election is prohibited-it was conceived and negotiated in order that no one , not Leonel, not me, nor anyone else, can run for office consecutively, due to the institutional danger and the obscene use of state funds that so abusively flourishes in this country, just as happened in the latest elections.
The PRD legislators, in the Lower House, are about 40% of the votes, and they will not vote for a constitutional reform that would establish immediate presidential re-election and I am sure that many of the PLD, that think of the country, would not either; even some of the PRSC would not go for this adventure, in which perhaps not even President Fernandez is seriously thinking about.
DL: And if there is a referendum....
MVM: That affair also does not have space in the people, it would be an enormous risk to go for this in a referendum, when the PLD, that got less votes all over, barely got 43% of the votes of a total of 54% of the voters, which means that if the PLD were to support the re-election, they are barely 23% of the total number of voters and they would be defeated and we all know that there are many PLD members that are not for re-election.
Because of that, with all the more reason sectors of the Church, the business community, and the country as a whole, have rejected the idea, even so far as the chief justice of the Supreme Court has said that it is untimely to speak of a new constitutional modification when the institutions that were created by the new Constitution have yet to be created. What we should do, right away, and for this I invite the President to honor his word, is pass the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Electoral Guarantees, in order that the publicity be regulated, the use of public fund controlled, the automatic resignation, with no less than six months in advance, of all aspiring candidates who handle funds, controls are established on the use of the government's social programs, and the appointment and firing of personnel during political campaigns is prohibited, all as ways that will tend to improve the quality of our democracy.
DL: Let's go to the issue of crime. How does the president of the PRD feel about this?
MVM: The Dominican democracy is hostage to the out of control crime that we are suffering.
We are going to guarantee the safety of the people; now this does not mean only daily scandals of the big drug dealers, of unequaled corruption, but rather it means that in the colmadones, the streets, barrios and houses every day they are killing innocent, humble people. The country is suffering from a panic attack, here nobody is safe, and the PRD is going to put an end to this situation by imposing public safety as it should be.
DL: The PRD has been very critical of the Central Electoral Board, particularly of the Contentious Chamber....
MVM: The JCE had been a mockery for democracy, a political steamroller for executing a scandalous fraud where reason has no place; frauds in the acts, frauds in the transmission of data, the purchasing of votes, the case of Pedernales will go into the annals of history as one of the most extreme examples of shamelessness. For this reason we want a JCE composed of independent and serious Dominicans, which do not belong to any party.
DL: Aren't you worried about judicial reform...
MVM: We need a new wave of judicial reforms and a SCJ (Supreme Court of Justice) that is capable of continuing what has been obtained, without party politics, composed of honest people, dedicated exclusively to administering justice, this is what the PRD wants. We do not want to pursue anyone, except the criminals, nor do we want to protect the "big fish" mentioned every day with regard to drug trafficking in the telenovelas. Quirino, Paya, Del Tiempo, Agosto, cases which never end in anything definite.
DL: And regarding the Constitutional Tribunal....
MVM: Here the Constitution is violated on a daily basis, this has to end. A Constitutional Tribunal is needed, one which guarantees the fundamental rights of each man or woman, not a tribunal composed of party delegates or, even less, appointed from the civil society, the academies and the parties, by the President who happens to be in office and his party. The Constitutional Tribunal should be a guarantee for everyone.
DL: What is your position regarding the Chamber of Accounts?
MVM: The PRD hopes that the Chamber of Deputies, consulting with the country, quickly presents the Senate with a list of serious men and women on whom the society can rely for the control of the handling of state funds in order for them to be appointed to the Chamber of Accounts, nothing more.
DL: And regarding the Dominican Municipal League, we hear there is some internal scrambling in your party?
MVM: The Dominican Municipal League, that used to be a useful consulting organization, is now an entelechy (a hypothetical agency). Its takeover twelve years ago is a stain on the institutional conduct of the President. You have to remember that it was taken by force 12 years ago; we should rescue it, not give it to some party in order that they spread their resources in unproductive jobs, but rather get the money to the municipalities and in them, the PRD got the greater number of votes. The current office holder has resigned three times from his Senate seat to stay at the head of the League, while it dies. This is enough of this farce for the electorate.
DL: Is President Fernandez going to run or not?
MVM:
MVM: The indefinite re-election in America is a thing of the past; in Colombia, Uribe, the most admired president in Colombia's history, with a 74% approval rating, in the face of institutional risks, the Constitutional Court told him "no"; in Brazil, the most popular president in the world, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, by his own decision, decided not to run, and in Chile, Bachlet, who ended her period as the most popular leader in contemporary history, also refused to seek re-election. Only those that aspire to be the new-style dictators do not leave office, and this is not going to happen here.
DL: But many interpret the Constitution as if there were an opening....
MVM: The Dominican Constitution is not open to interpretations-the re-election is prohibited-it was conceived and negotiated in order that no one , not Leonel, not me, nor anyone else, can run for office consecutively, due to the institutional danger and the obscene use of state funds that so abusively flourishes in this country, just as happened in the latest elections.
The PRD legislators, in the Lower House, are about 40% of the votes, and they will not vote for a constitutional reform that would establish immediate presidential re-election and I am sure that many of the PLD, that think of the country, would not either; even some of the PRSC would not go for this adventure, in which perhaps not even President Fernandez is seriously thinking about.
DL: And if there is a referendum....
MVM: That affair also does not have space in the people, it would be an enormous risk to go for this in a referendum, when the PLD, that got less votes all over, barely got 43% of the votes of a total of 54% of the voters, which means that if the PLD were to support the re-election, they are barely 23% of the total number of voters and they would be defeated and we all know that there are many PLD members that are not for re-election.
Because of that, with all the more reason sectors of the Church, the business community, and the country as a whole, have rejected the idea, even so far as the chief justice of the Supreme Court has said that it is untimely to speak of a new constitutional modification when the institutions that were created by the new Constitution have yet to be created. What we should do, right away, and for this I invite the President to honor his word, is pass the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Electoral Guarantees, in order that the publicity be regulated, the use of public fund controlled, the automatic resignation, with no less than six months in advance, of all aspiring candidates who handle funds, controls are established on the use of the government's social programs, and the appointment and firing of personnel during political campaigns is prohibited, all as ways that will tend to improve the quality of our democracy.
DL: Let's go to the issue of crime. How does the president of the PRD feel about this?
MVM: The Dominican democracy is hostage to the out of control crime that we are suffering.
We are going to guarantee the safety of the people; now this does not mean only daily scandals of the big drug dealers, of unequaled corruption, but rather it means that in the colmadones, the streets, barrios and houses every day they are killing innocent, humble people. The country is suffering from a panic attack, here nobody is safe, and the PRD is going to put an end to this situation by imposing public safety as it should be.
DL: The PRD has been very critical of the Central Electoral Board, particularly of the Contentious Chamber....
MVM: The JCE had been a mockery for democracy, a political steamroller for executing a scandalous fraud where reason has no place; frauds in the acts, frauds in the transmission of data, the purchasing of votes, the case of Pedernales will go into the annals of history as one of the most extreme examples of shamelessness. For this reason we want a JCE composed of independent and serious Dominicans, which do not belong to any party.
DL: Aren't you worried about judicial reform...
MVM: We need a new wave of judicial reforms and a SCJ (Supreme Court of Justice) that is capable of continuing what has been obtained, without party politics, composed of honest people, dedicated exclusively to administering justice, this is what the PRD wants. We do not want to pursue anyone, except the criminals, nor do we want to protect the "big fish" mentioned every day with regard to drug trafficking in the telenovelas. Quirino, Paya, Del Tiempo, Agosto, cases which never end in anything definite.
DL: And regarding the Constitutional Tribunal....
MVM: Here the Constitution is violated on a daily basis, this has to end. A Constitutional Tribunal is needed, one which guarantees the fundamental rights of each man or woman, not a tribunal composed of party delegates or, even less, appointed from the civil society, the academies and the parties, by the President who happens to be in office and his party. The Constitutional Tribunal should be a guarantee for everyone.
DL: What is your position regarding the Chamber of Accounts?
MVM: The PRD hopes that the Chamber of Deputies, consulting with the country, quickly presents the Senate with a list of serious men and women on whom the society can rely for the control of the handling of state funds in order for them to be appointed to the Chamber of Accounts, nothing more.
DL: And regarding the Dominican Municipal League, we hear there is some internal scrambling in your party?
MVM: The Dominican Municipal League, that used to be a useful consulting organization, is now an entelechy (a hypothetical agency). Its takeover twelve years ago is a stain on the institutional conduct of the President. You have to remember that it was taken by force 12 years ago; we should rescue it, not give it to some party in order that they spread their resources in unproductive jobs, but rather get the money to the municipalities and in them, the PRD got the greater number of votes. The current office holder has resigned three times from his Senate seat to stay at the head of the League, while it dies. This is enough of this farce for the electorate.
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