Rodolfo Santos labels PLD candidates as “lazy”

SANTO DOMINGO. — The internal dynamics of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and the performance of its main leaders ahead of the 2028 political landscape sparked a heated debate on the radio program Politikal, where communicator Rodolfo Santos Méndez labeled several opposition pre-candidates as “lazy,” while his colleague Jonatan Familia came to the defense of former minister Francisco Javier García and lashed out at the inactivity of former presidential candidate Gonzalo Castillo.

During his speech, Santos Méndez harshly questioned the lack of continuous activism within the ranks of the opposition. “There is a laziness in these opposition parties… they do not want to do political work,” the political analyst asserted, arguing that after the suspension of internal consultation processes in the PLD, most of its cadres paralyzed fieldwork.

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In his remarks, the communicator lashed out directly at Abel Martínez, pointing out that “he spent three months on vacation in Europe and now he wants to live in a gym lifting weights” instead of doing grassroots politics. Likewise, he disqualified Francisco Javier García, defining him as “another bum.”

In contrast, Santos Méndez maintained that the only PLD leader who has maintained a consistent path in the current situation is Gonzalo Castillo.

“It is in the country’s best interest, for the strengthening of democracy, that the PLD candidate be Gonzalo Castillo”, he stated, asserting that it is the only project that remains structurally active.

Jonatan Familia hits back: questions Gonzalo Castillo’s “6 years of absence”

In light of Santos Méndez’s statements, communicator and radio panelist Jonatan Familia categorically rejected the label of “lazy” applied to active leaders and questioned the consistency of praising a leader who remained distanced from the party for years.

“I find it very strange when Rodolfo talks about being lazy,” Familia stated at the beginning of his reply.

Family recalled Gonzalo Castillo’s prolonged political isolation within the PLD structure: «Gonzalo Castillo had not met with the Central Committee for 6 years… Gonzalo Castillo cowardly resigned from the Political Committee… he had not visited an intermediate committee for 6 years [and] had been in hiding for 6 years».

The analyst questioned the attempt to label a candidate as lazy for being absent from social media for ten days, while ignoring someone who was absent from party life for six years.

Defense of Francisco Javier García and the weight of the grassroots

In defense of Francisco Javier García‘s candidacy, Familia highlighted that the former Minister of Tourism took on the commitment to travel the country at a time when the PLD’s structure was going through a stagnation.

“When no one in the PLD was on the streets, Francisco Javier was on the streets… he went out in July 2024, traveling across the country,” he emphasized.

Finally, the communicator stressed that internal party contests are decided through direct contact with the membership and not by momentary reach on digital platforms or preliminary polls.

“In closed party primaries, the one who has the base, the one who has the work, the one who meets with the base, and the one who shows their face is the one who wins,” concluded Familia.