NewsWhore
11-16-2006, 01:50 PM
Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin comments on the disintegration of the DR's political parties in the opinion page of El Caribe today.
He mentions that the PRD is immersed in the process of choosing who will run for President in 2008, and has forgotten to seek answers to some key questions, such as "What were the causes of the dramatic defeats in 2004 and 2006? How come the masses have let go of the spirit of the PRD? Why is nobody talking about democratic socialism, and why is Pena Gomez at best but a forgotten photo in some office? How come the leadership that commanded such major defeats has been kept on?"
Turning his attentions to the other opposition party, the PRSC, he says that the "feudal lords" who accompanied Balaguer have not been able to get their act together and some are making agreements with the rich and erstwhile very powerful PPH or with the PLD, forming satellite organizations. Another mocks the system and resigns his Senate seat to continue at the Dominican Municipal League that allows him to drive a Hummer and commute by helicopter.
He says the ruling PLD party is like a dragon, in the Chinese sense, using its fire to destroy or build. He writes, "While the PLD does not respond to the expectations of the great masses, it survives because of the absence of options and the other parties' lack of capacity to build something new. Patronage and the principle of inertia are what sustain this party. Tejada nevertheless points out that there is now an internal conflict in the PLD, which is what happens when there is only one strong party in the system. The most radical competition for the presidency is internal.
Tejada concludes that there is space for new options.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
He mentions that the PRD is immersed in the process of choosing who will run for President in 2008, and has forgotten to seek answers to some key questions, such as "What were the causes of the dramatic defeats in 2004 and 2006? How come the masses have let go of the spirit of the PRD? Why is nobody talking about democratic socialism, and why is Pena Gomez at best but a forgotten photo in some office? How come the leadership that commanded such major defeats has been kept on?"
Turning his attentions to the other opposition party, the PRSC, he says that the "feudal lords" who accompanied Balaguer have not been able to get their act together and some are making agreements with the rich and erstwhile very powerful PPH or with the PLD, forming satellite organizations. Another mocks the system and resigns his Senate seat to continue at the Dominican Municipal League that allows him to drive a Hummer and commute by helicopter.
He says the ruling PLD party is like a dragon, in the Chinese sense, using its fire to destroy or build. He writes, "While the PLD does not respond to the expectations of the great masses, it survives because of the absence of options and the other parties' lack of capacity to build something new. Patronage and the principle of inertia are what sustain this party. Tejada nevertheless points out that there is now an internal conflict in the PLD, which is what happens when there is only one strong party in the system. The most radical competition for the presidency is internal.
Tejada concludes that there is space for new options.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)