Grassroots group says their violent protests ‘a thing of the past’

Santiago.- After 30 years of fighting in the streets which left at least 25 dead in Dominican Republic’s north region, the grassroots movement FALPO on Wednesday announced that the violent protests “are a thing of the past.”

FALPO spokesman Víctor Breton said the change has been occurring over the last year and that it’s time to move on from the burning of tires, chopping trees and hurling trash onto on the streets, and work with the communities instead.

"It’s hard to change 30 years of fighting in the streets, but there’s a need to change these violent methods. There’s misunderstanding among the population and that’s what we don’t want to continue," said the lawyer and popular leader.

But Raul Monegro, another FALPO leader from Santiago province, warned that that the organization will still support protests by the population. "When governments change their methods of looting, then the popular organizations will change their methods."