Prolonged blackouts, water scarcity, and high food prices have the people irritated, assures Leonel Fernández

Former leaders of the PRM and the PLD are sworn in to the Fuerza del Pueblo San Pedro de Macorís. – The former president of the Republic and leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) party, Leonel Fernández, accused the government of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) of condemning the country to “live in darkness,” amid a crisis marked by prolonged blackouts, water scarcity, and the constant increase in food prices.

“Nos han condenado a vivir en la oscuridad. Después de haberse resuelto durante nuestra gestión el servicio eléctrico, ahora tenemos tandas de apagones de más de 8 horas. El pueblo está irritado, el pueblo está molesto, el pueblo está indignado, por eso desde ya le dicen que preparen sus maletas, porque en el 2028 e’ pa’ fuera que van”,

expresó Fernández.

While presiding over an oath-taking ceremony for new members of the Fuerza del Pueblo in the municipality of Consuelo, the opposition leader pointed out that the current government has specialized in giving blackouts “at night and during the day”, but that the most worrying thing is that “they don’t know why the blackouts are happening”. In that sense, he questioned the multiple official explanations, ranging from sargassum on the coasts and high temperatures, to alleged breakdowns in a turbine at the Punta Catalina power plant. To the energy crisis, Fernández added the shortage of drinking water throughout the national territory and the rising prices of basic products. “Every desire for change in the current government was lost, but there is renewed hope in the Force of the People,” he affirmed.

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Fernández also criticized the management of the health sector in the province, highlighting the lack of maintenance and investment in hospitals. He recalled that the remodeling of the Dr. Antonio Musa Regional Hospital has been inaugurated three times without the work being completed. He also denounced the collapse of the roof of the Jaime Oliver Pino hospital just two months ago and called the abandonment of the hospital in the municipal district of El Puerto, where communities cannot access basic health services, “a tragedy.”

“We have an inefficient, indolent, and insensitive government to the basic problems of this population,” he stated.

In his speech, Fernández highlighted that during his presidential administrations, impactful works were executed in San Pedro de Macorís and the Eastern region, such as the construction of the Mauricio Báez bridge and the Autovía del Este, which connects from the capital to Punta Cana, the Antonio Musa Regional Hospital, the paving of the neighborhoods, as well as a long list of works. “The PRM promised changes, but what it has done is lead us to a setback typical of the 19th century. Instead, from the Fuerza del Pueblo there is renewed hope to return the country to a course of progress,” he concluded.

Swearing-in Ceremonies in San Pedro de Macorís

This Sunday, in San Pedro de Macorís, the opposition leader swore in former members of the ruling PRM, the PLD, as well as religious leaders. In the morning, Fernández swore in former leaders of the PRM and the PLD, as well as influential personalities from the municipality of Consuelo. The act took place at the 7 de Septiembre Club. Among the new FP militants are: Luisa Mercedes De los Santos, Virgen Castillo Acosta, Jorge Antonio Castillo Acosta, Jean Carlos García Polanco, Ana María Santana Figueroa, Jorge Giménez Santana, Juana María Castillo Santana and Germán Ezequiel Tiburcio. Also sworn in were María Altagracia Gabot (La Máquina), Freddy Medina, Mario Beltré, Tanya Soto, Yosandy Santana (president of the Juventud Fuerza del Pueblo Movement), Robert Bonilla, Santos Ortiz, Roberto Antonio Santana (reformist and former candidate for councilman), Julio César Brito and Julio César Castro. Others sworn in by Fernández were Yonairis Castillo Santana, Dolores Santana Figueroa, Andy Antonio Figueroa, and Miguel Ángel Herrera, as well as a large group of new members. Fernández concluded his journey in San Pedro de Macorís by swearing in Pastor Darío Lizardo, president of the Pastores Evangélicos con Leonel movement. This movement also includes Sandi Añasco Ramírez, executive director; Bienvenido Mercedes, executive pastor; Sonia Pacheco, executive coordinator of the teachers’ front and director of the Padre Sillas primary school; and Edili Báez Polanco, communications coordinator, among others.