The long arm of the machine that is the PLD's

My issue with Garcia's article had to do with the stark contrast in his descriptions of opposing party leaders, especially his portrayal of PRD (Dominican Revolutionary Party) front-runner and former president of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Hipolito Mejia. In contrast to his descriptions of current PLD (Dominican Liberation Party) commander, Leonel Fernandez, and PLD candidate, Danilo Medina--both of whom were referred to by their previously held positions in office; Fernandez as the current president and Medina as the former Secretary of the Presidency--Mejia, on the other hand and as described by Garcia, is a man known for controversial remarks, leading the country into a banking meltdown, and a popularity that rivaled that of George W. Bush's. Keeping in mind that a banking crisis does not happen overnight and that the collapse of the major Dominican banks had been a long time coming from the result of unregulated corruption of earlier years and earlier administrations, Fernandez's being a major one of them. Garcia went on to add a few more accusations directed toward Mejia; a dash of nepotism, and sprinkle of corruption. All perfectly mixed and blended together to form one more turning cog in what I previously referred to as the machine that is the PLD's Orwellian ministry of misinformation.

In his strawmanesque attacks on former president Mejia, where he cries out the--popular when referring to politics--c-word: corruption, Garcia fails to inform the audience about the large-scale money laundering operation(s) headed by some PLD elected officials and affiliates. Perhaps not intentional but perhaps part of this same propaganda machine that wags the dog (the Dominican mainstream media is known to skew stories and bury others and this piece, in a bitter way, reminded me of being back home) while the country faces a critical outbreak of crime and corrupt officials live lavish lives with bank accounts of eight or nine digits in one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere while stunting the growth of this small island nation's economy.

This past week, I had the pleasure of accompanying UChicago economist, Jaime Aristy-Escuder, on his book tour through Miami, Spain, and New York. Aristy-Escuder has written a long-awaited exposé entitled, El Lado Oscuro de la SunLand (The Dark Side of the SunLand), an investigative report on Fernandez-administration elected official, Senator Felix Bautista, and his privately owned companies that have been using money from the nation's funds to illegally finance various privately administrated construction projects while taking in large amounts of loans and securing more contract jobs to do the same. A long-time friend of Fernandez and one of the main financers of the PLD's campaigns, Bautista has also been linked to Haitian President Michel Martelly, as he generally gifted millions of dollars to pay for Martelly's presidential campaign in exchange for securing illegally granted contracts on construction jobs in Haiti and furthering his multimillion dollar investments in strategically placing the leaders of nations in his pockets.

Without breaking a sweat or fearing any sort of legal action because of the high ranking officials he funds, Bautista and the Fernandez-PLD administration will continue to bankrupt an already bankrupt nation to feed their seemingly insatiable greed.

One thing Garcia was completely right about was that this upcoming election will be decided by the external sector. That being the case, not even the Dominicans that live outside of the country are exempt from the reach of the Fernandez-PLD propaganda machine. As I walked through the streets of upper-Manhattan, along Dyckman Street with the Hudson to my west and the Harlem River to my east, the pieces were being put in play: giant billboards screaming VOTE MEDINA-FERNANDEZ, VOTE PLD!

The Vanguard of the crying nation, this coming May 20^th, will be outside of the very nation it defends. Fernandez and the PLD with the Medina puppet have put a stranglehold on the commonwealth of democracy and will continue to do so. Being that it would be a sensitive thing to run for a third consecutive term--not at all because it is currently unconstitutional, Fernandez has tactically and strategically placed his wife, Margarita Cedeño-Fernandez, as Medina's running-mate on the PLD ticket. Littered with this and more, not surprisingly, the Dominican Republic ranks as one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

During one of our stops in New York, an audience member asked Aristy-Escuder if he is in fear of his life after writing this book and putting it out into the world. Aristy-Escuder paused for a moment, looked forward, and simply asked, "Why?"

Maybe Aristy-Escuder saw something that very moment; maybe he looked into the audience and saw his faith in the people to bring about change. Last week, during the campaign closing rally in New York, a march through upper Manhattan, Washington Heights, sprung up. Out of an expected 1,000 attendees, over 15,000 people showed up; people waved white and blue flags, the traditional colors of the PRD; they took to the streets screaming E' Pa' Fuera Que Van (we're kicking them out).

Looking at the Dominican press, nothing like this ever happened and nothing was reported.