The Economist: Dominican Republic ex-president will win; but scandal weighs

Santo Domingo.- The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its report on the Dominican Republic dated May 28, states: “We expect that former president Leonel Fernández will win the presidential elections as a PLD (ruling party) candidate in 2020.”

This is so, despite the fact that president Danilo Medina “is trying to eliminate the ban that prevents him from a third consecutive term.”

The publication however doesn’t take into account the potential fallout from the “Qurinazo” scandal, referring to a reported campaign funding from former drug kingpin Quirino Paulino to Fernandez, an allegation the former three-term president has yet to deny.

The English publication’s report analyzes various aspects of Dominican Republic’s reality, including economic, social, international relations, monetary and fiscal policy, among others.

Moreover, in the chapter “Electoral observatory,” the publication states that in the next elections, “Luis Abinader, who was defeated by Medina in 2016, is supposed to seek the nomination of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) in 2020, and adds: “President Medina recently managed to convince the Senate to pass a law that ordered open primaries, which benefits him given his popularity that transcends the parties.”