Dominican Republic’s ruling party admits corrupt image

Santo Domingo. – A self-critical debate is part of the Dominican Republic’s ruling party (PLD) upcoming Congress, as well as the performance of former president Leonel Fernandez’s last two terms in office (2004-2008 and 2008 -2012).

The PLD admits that some officials under Fernandez, particularly his last term, disgruntled business sectors who observed how they took advantage of their posts to become their competitors.

It also blames the accusations of government corruption and the subsequent bad image to a "well-orchestrated campaign of public opinion."

PLD leaders consider those issues as part of the problems which eroded the image of Fernandez’s Administration and of the party itself.

"The perception of government corruption seeped into the country’s sectors after a well-orchestrated public campaign even without discussing whether there was corruption or not in that magnitude reported and the political effects cannot be dismissed," says a document of the Congress’ Organizing Committee, headed by Presidency legal adviser Cesar Pina Toribio.