I truly want to see Hipólito out, but am not happy about the return of Leonel. My ideology, which I adopted somewhere around 1994, was that no president that was mediocre or worse deserved a second term. Getting Hipólito out fits with my scheme, but accepting Leonel doesn't. I rather have a bad new guy than see incompetence rewarded with four more years (and I realize that to many Leonel was stelar, but opinions vary).
Many people see in Leonel a charming guy who's part of the same old politics, only bound to get worse. One of the advantages of the PLD's first term was that the party was small and had a tradition of discipline that helped them govern in order. Like suarezn says, if the PLD grows, this advantage is bound to thin out. Anyway, in many areas this discipline helped the PLD greatly, and PLD followers say that this is the only reason that they got the unjust nickname of 'comesolos'.
However, the party wasn't free of corruption. The PEME scandal, vented out after Leonel's term, is marked at RD$400 million. Compare that with the RD$40 million of Pepegate, and you get some perspective of how the PLD came out swinging in its first term. But it is a testament to the good
PR tactics of the PLD and the horrible
PR tactics of the PRD that Pepegate served as a more damaging tool. Leonel faced the PEME scandal head on, and was boosted from it. Hipólito blundered Pepegate like everything else and is still hurting from it. After all, Pepe Goico was involved in scandals in Leonel's term and Balaguer's. A similar case was the scholarship scandal, where some RD$ 100 million in scholarship funds were handled in an ill manner. The names of the recipients of the scholarships haven't been ousted, to avoid hurting innoncent recipients, but the price tag on each scholarship is high to enough to pay for 4 years doing doctorate work at an Ivy League university. Where did that money go? Various PLD officials were mentioned at the time.
El "Comesolismo", as it has been called, had some aspects that were quite illegal. It wasn't just about a small payroll (which was small in persons, not in pesos) that left out workers. The tactics of the PLD breached many contractual obligations. All governments have done this, but in the other cases most people got a share of the pie and kept quiet. Balaguer sorted out many projects among a handful of contractors and cronies (Guin(?) Moya, 'Bebecito' Martínez, Pedro Haché, etc), while Leonel seemed to route all projects through one person, Diandino Peña.
Also, Balaguer's cronies handled the easy technical (though profitable) jobs, such as the new Postal Service offices, "La Plaza De La Salud", housing projects and urban streets. These projects are cash cows, easy to build compared to other things. Balaguer still put the complex jobs up for contest. Many engineers got a hand in things by winning legally contracts to build dams, energy plants and irrigation canals. These projects usually involve partnerships between local and foreign companies, and are in consequence more transparent. Many people will dispute this, but the PLD government took steps back in this process, despite appearances to the contrary. One of the biggest companies in electrical contracting today arose during the PLD term and as it turns out, it is headed by a former top official during Leonel's term. To those looking, this is a sign of the same old politics, but sugar-coated. The projects started during Leonel's term are dubious to say the least.
Leonel also failed to boost the provinces, which cost his party the 2000 and 2002 elections. The PLD is strong in Santo Domingo, where Leonel endeavoured to create his vision of "un Nueva York chiquito". Outside, it's quite easy for the PLD to lose ground.
In my opinion. If the 2003 crisis hadn't taken place, Hipólito could be spitting at cameramen and Leonel would have a tough time beating him. It is only because of the PRD's gross mismanagement of the crisis that Leonel has one cheek on the seat.
In closing, you can still contest that Leonel is the lesser evil. But many people have cause to not be in love with the guy. Mushy 's' don't make the guy Sean Connery!
(10)
This guy is right. Read.
