Return to the first political line Leonel Fernandez Things don’t go as he expected. Perhaps he believed that his mere presence would open the doors of the National Palace of Santo Domingo. However, the current Dominican Republic is not the one that neither he nor his successor left. This is confirmed by voting intention surveys conducted by the most important polling companies in the world, as well as the popular consent polls that politicians place so much importance on.

Time is inexpressible and never returns. Jean-Paul Sartre He said, “Let’s not waste time. Maybe there were more beautiful ones, but this is ours. Leonel may have thought that citizens would think that “any time in the past was better,” but the reality is different. Leonel’s time passed and his legacy was toxic, a legacy that, by the way, is still not explained to the Dominican people.

Since nothing worked out as he had planned, Leonel resorted to a strategy that involves riding the wave of Trumpist populism that is triumphant in some countries, both in America and in Europe, a model of politics based on slander, lies, propaganda, but without indescribable support of facts.

An example of this could be seen during the inauguration Javier Miley in Argentina, when, having presented himself to his people as the savior of his country, he realized that the economy would deteriorate. He did about the same thing Nigel Farage in the UK after Brexit, publicly admitting that everything they promised was a lie.

Leonel is promising a lot now. There is even an attempt to ride the wave of new technologies to attract support from younger sectors, without taking into account the very serious consequences for citizens that, for example, artificial intelligence may entail, although it may be an element of the proposed funding. political campaigns.

Another element that Leonel copies from the Trumpist parties is prosecution as a political weapon. In many Western countries where these populist groups are in opposition, they resort to filing complaints and lawsuits in the courts so that judges can stop projects approved by ruling governments. This is an absolute collapse of the separation of powers and a demonstration of complete disrespect for the foundations of democratic regimes.

Leonel is afraid of failure because he has always positioned himself as a winner and no one could ever knock him off that horse. Leonel is backed into a corner, and that is why he makes the machine suddenly point at someone who accuses without being held accountable to the people.

The current leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo served as head of state of the Dominican Republic for 12 years. Three terms in which a regime was established based on corruption and the most absolute clientelism, that is, the complete opposite of what the president did Luis Abinader Since August 2020, an administration has been built based on maximum transparency and a merciless fight against corruption, facts, we repeat, that have been taken into account and set as an example at the international level.

However, Leonel minds his own business and ignores the reality that does not allow any discussion. On the contrary, he was never held accountable and did not give public explanations for all the scandals that arose during his mandate.

Leonel’s fans defend the fact that he was never tried or tried for corruption. However, Leonel himself stated that he was “afraid of the moral censure of my fellow citizens, of disapproval of my behavior for unlawful actions.” This might explain why he never gave a single explanation for the corrupt regime he operated during his three mandates.

Leonel is cornered by the curriculum with which he presents himself to the citizens

Moreover, the fact that he was not convicted and tried was not due to the integrity of the leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo, but to the creation of a judicial system that protected him, which indiscriminately brought or rejected any case that could affect him. The judges appointed by Leonel were champions of his impunity. But people know what happened and, even worse, what could happen again if they return to the Head of State.

This institutionalization of impunity contrasts with the measures and reforms of the judicial system implemented by the government of Luis Abinader, especially the creation of an independent body responsible for investigating any corrupt acts, past or present.

Leonel is cornered by the curriculum with which he presents himself to the citizens. He never explained the Funglode fund’s funding or the checks government contractors paid out as donations. He was also not held accountable for the corruption that arose during the reconstruction of Haiti using funds funneled from the Dominican Republic. In one of the numerous complaints filed against Leonel, it was documented that in a very short period of days, Funglod received $1.1 million from Dominican businessmen who benefited from reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

On the other hand, Leonel Fernandez’s right hand man, Felix Bautistawas sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for using “his position to engage in corruption by exploiting humanitarian efforts related to the reconstruction of Haiti.” […] He committed serious acts of corruption in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti; He was publicly accused of money laundering and embezzlement. Bautista was involved in bribery in connection with his position as a senator and is alleged to have committed corruption in Haiti, where he used his connections to obtain public works contracts to help rebuild the country after several natural disasters, including one case where “a company was paid more $10 million for work in progress.”

The partnership between Leonel and Bautista was very profitable. As soon as he became president in 2004, Bautista’s companies became government contractors. For all this, Leonel was not held accountable to the Dominican people.

One of the biggest corruption scandals in all of Latin America was Odebrecht. Proven fact: a Brazilian construction company paid bribes in different countries to obtain concessions. While in other countries, such as Peru or Brazil, presidents were convicted, in the Dominican Republic Leonel escaped impunity thanks to the judicial system he created.

The Dominican people did not hear a single explanation from Leonel regarding the fact that, proportionally, the Dominican Republic was the leader in corruption in Odebrecht. Odebrecht paid $92 million in bribes in the Dominican Republic to Leonel Fernandez, money that was also increased by cost overruns on additional work or engineering modifications and that was not awarded in government tenders, in addition to these concessions saved through changes in contracts. .

Obebrecht’s biggest awards came during Leonel Fernandez’s last two terms as president. During this period, 14 jobs worth more than $2 billion were awarded to the Brazilian construction company. Thus, Odebrecht became the main contractor in the Dominican Republic. Ultimately, all this work cost more than $3.2 billion, which in nine cases exceeded the 25% threshold allowed by Dominican Republic law. For example, the construction of the Coral Highway and the La Romana ring road stands out, the costs of which were 148% more than budgeted.

In recent weeks, Leonel has learned a new word: “unconstitutional.” However, we must remember how in the Sun Land case, the $130 million loan, he bypassed all democratic controls without informing the National Congress, and violated agreements with the IMF without informing the Fund. Faced with the judicial system introduced by Leonel in the Dominican Republic, a guarantor of impunity for corruption, several citizens were forced to file lawsuits in Spain and the United States.

Leonel’s resume is enormous, which deprives him of legitimacy before the Dominican people, since he has never given a single explanation for everything that happened during his mandate. All this contrasts with the current regime of transparency, where we look not at who, but at what and how to take enforcement action if necessary. The facts prove this, and unfortunately for Leonel, the reality is unfathomable.