{"id":522690,"date":"2026-08-29T11:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/uncategorized\/hipolito-says-that-santiago-matias-will-have-to-wait-to-consolidate-himself-as-a-political-figure\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T11:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:02:58","slug":"hipolito-says-that-santiago-matias-will-have-to-wait-to-consolidate-himself-as-a-political-figure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/dominican-news\/hipolito-says-that-santiago-matias-will-have-to-wait-to-consolidate-himself-as-a-political-figure\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip\u00f3lito says that Santiago Mat\u00edas will have to wait to consolidate himself as a political figure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Santo Domingo.\u2013<\/strong> The<strong> former President of the Republic, Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda<\/strong>, reacted to the emergence of<strong> Dominicanos Primero<\/strong>, a political organization promoted by <strong>businessman Santiago Mat\u00edas (Alofoke),<\/strong> by considering it a new party that will have to wait to demonstrate its ability to consolidate itself on the national political stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When questioned about the possibility of Mat\u00edas becoming an outsider capable of breaking into Dominican politics, Mej\u00eda replied: \u201cHe hasn&#8217;t appeared yet. Let him arrive,\u201d although he warned that achieving that goal will not be simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is good that he appears. Now, using bad words doesn&#8217;t get you anywhere,\u201d expressed the former president when referring to the communication style that has also characterized the influencer and content producer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You might be interested in: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/nacionales\/hipolito-plasticos-por-utiles-escolares\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/nacionales\/hipolito-plasticos-por-utiles-escolares\/\">Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda highlights impact of \u201cPlastics for School Supplies\u201d on low-income families<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mej\u00eda, who claimed to have 60 years of experience in political activity, was also asked about the role of young people in politics and took the opportunity to urge them to trust in the country, in their families, and in their own capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Santiago Mat\u00edas&#8217; foray into Dominican politics has taken shape with the creation of Dominicanos Primero, a project through which the businessman and communicator seeks to participate in the 2028 elections. Mat\u00edas previously rejected the possibility of running from an existing political organization and opted to promote his own structure, the recognition process for which is underway before the Central Electoral Board (JCE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His aspirations have generated mixed opinions among political leaders, business people, and other sectors. In addition to Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda, former president Leonel Fern\u00e1ndez has also defined him as a \u201ccommunicational phenomenon,\u201d although he has pointed out that building an organization requires territorial structure and political vision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that sense, the challenge for Mat\u00edas will be <strong>to translate the broad influence he has built over years in the media<\/strong> and digital platforms into a party structure with territorial presence, leaders, militancy, and the capacity to compete electorally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83d\udd34EN VIVO: COBERTURA ESPECIAL DE PL\u00c1STICOS POR \u00daTILES ESCOLARES 2026\" width=\"1240\" height=\"930\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bFz9TJ_aaa0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Do not have faith in the country, have confidence in the country, have confidence in your family, be an example in the family, and believe in our homeland,&#8221; he stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former president also defended the importance of fostering patriotic fervor among new generations and considered that initiatives such as those promoted by the National District Mayor&#8217;s Office can contribute to bringing authorities closer to vulnerable sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-29-at-9.20.50-AM-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda destaca impacto de \u201cPl\u00e1sticos por \u00datiles Escolares\u201d en familias de escasos recursos\" class=\"wp-image-705839\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda destaca impacto de \u201cPl\u00e1sticos por \u00datiles Escolares\u201d en familias de escasos recursos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hip\u00f3lito Values \u201cPlastics for School Supplies\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On another note, <strong>Mej\u00eda described the <a href=\"https:\/\/adn.gob.do\/alcaldia-del-dn-garantiza-seguridad-y-tiene-todo-listo-para-plasticos-por-utiles-escolares\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/adn.gob.do\/alcaldia-del-dn-garantiza-seguridad-y-tiene-todo-listo-para-plasticos-por-utiles-escolares\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cPlastics for School Supplies\u201d<\/a> program as \u201ca great initiative,\u201d<\/strong> which is being developed by the National District City Hall, although he pointed out that it is not a new initiative and highlighted that it has been running for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As explained, the program has a dual purpose: to contribute to reducing the pollution caused by plastic waste and, at the same time, to provide relief to families in marginalized sectors through the exchange of bottles for school supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is a great initiative, although not new, it has already been around for several years,&#8221; stated Mej\u00eda, who highlighted the participation of the citizenry in the event.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former president considered that these types of actions allow authorities to reach out to communities with greater needs and address some of the economic difficulties that families face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is reaching the marginalized sectors of the population. And it must be seen, because there is a lot of marginalization in this country and in many countries,\u201d he maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statements were made during their participation in the \u201cPlastics for School Supplies\u201d day, an activity that seeks to encourage recycling and support families ahead of the start of the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>\u201cPlastics for School Supplies\u201d<\/em><\/strong>, which celebrates its 3rd edition, seeks to involve families in recycling activities and promote responsible practices related to environmental conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Santo Domingo.\u2013 The former President of the Republic, Hip\u00f3lito Mej\u00eda, reacted to the emergence of Dominicanos Primero, a political organization promoted by businessman Santiago Mat\u00edas (Alofoke), by considering it a new party that will have to wait to demonstrate its ability to consolidate itself on the national political stage. When questioned about the possibility of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":522691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[40216],"tags":[44182,44706,15381,2005],"class_list":["post-522690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dominican-news","tag-cover","tag-dominicans-first","tag-hipolito-mejia","tag-santiago-matias"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2bYu","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/Copia-de-Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-2026-08-29T105554.318.png","dum_api":{"author_name":"Arelis Suero","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-cropped-Diseno-sin-titulo-41-96x96.jpg","categories_name":["Dominican News"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/Copia-de-Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-2026-08-29T105554.318.png"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}