Lawmaker also slams government push to muzzle the media

Santo Domingo.- Oppositiondeputy Vinicio Castillo on Sunday praised what he called a courageous statementby Dominican Newspapers Association president Persio Maldonado, who slammed theDominican government´s “marked interest” to control the agenda of public opinionand the media in pressing issues.

"I congratulatePersio Maldonado. The National Palace wants to impose a media dictatorship inthe country, to silence the issues that are adverse. That plan is beingdirected by a dismal figure from Brazil, Joao Santana, the former imageconsultant to Lula Da Silva and current president Dilma Rousseff, who was sentto work with Danilo Medina´s campaign in 2012 and has been the behind-the-scenemastermind throughout the Dominican government communications policy in thesethree years," the lawmaker said.

"Democracy dependsgreatly on the counterweight of public opinion and the role of the free press.The government has tried, without doubt, conditioning it to mold yourconvenience the information passed to the Dominican people. President Medina hasembarked on a path that will define the election May 15, 2016, when, losing,can be removed forever. It is hoped that in so far as the polls begin recordingits descent, media control policies and intolerance that have begun to observeby the President and his government are accentuated," said the deputy andsenator candidate for the minority FNP party.

"The Dominicanpeople should support Persio Maldonado´s allegation and fight for one of theirmost precious conquests that is the fundamental right to be informedobjectively, without conditioning that information, controlled or mediated byany government."