A dispute has arisen in the municipality of Saint Ignatius of SabanetaSantiago Rodríguez province, after the Council of Councilors unanimously approved to restore the original name of “Restauración Street”, previously designated by the Congress National like “Street Dr. Dario Gómez”, in honor of the deceased senator Dario Antonio Gómez Martínez.
The decision has caused rejection in the communityespecially by the family Gómez Martínez, who consider the change as a lack of respect for the memory of the former senator, who was murdered.
For this Tuesday November 5th family Gómez-Martínez is calling for a protest peaceful in front of the municipal palace in rejection to the decision.
Original street naming
The original designation of “Street Dr. Dario Gómez” was approved in a session of the Congress National on December 17, 2002, in which the name was established in recognition of the services and path of the senator assassinated when he was a legislator.
In the minutes of Congress It is detailed: “To vote: Those who agree with its approval, express it by raising their right hand. (22 votes. Approved on first reading).”
However, the Council of Councilors of Sabanetaby a resolution of November 1, 2024, decided to reverse the designation in response to a request from the community.
The certification of the town hall establishes that, after an ordinary session, “the proposal carried out by Mr. Ricardo González Quiñones, municipal director of culture, to restore the name of Restauración street, currently Doctor street Dario Gomez.”
Given this, the family of Dr. Dario Gómez expressed his discontent in a releasein which he denounces that the decision of the councilors It is “an act of injustice that has the status of a collective offense.”
The family alleges that the change could only have occurred due to “ignorance of the exemplary path that as a municipality and congressman Dr. Gómez Martínez had in his short life.
He releasesigned by the family Gómez Martínez also highlights the legacy of the former senator in other locations in the country, where his name has been used to honor his memory in streets, educational centers and institutions.
“What is protest serve so that you, gentlemen councilorsreflect, investigate the path of the common good of the person whose memory they have offended and leave the ill-advised resolution void,” expresses the family in the document.
The case has opened a debate in the community of Sabaneta about the importance of preserving tributes to prominent figures in the region and the autonomy of the local government in the management of its public spaces.
About the death of Dario Gomez
He senator Dario Gómez Martínez, representative of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) for Santiago Rodríguez, was murdered on December 11, 2001 in an alleged attempt to assault while attending a meeting at the residence of an acquaintance in Vista Hermosa, Santo Domingo Este.
During the attack, Gómez received several shots and died three days later in a hospital of the capital.
The murder was attributed to a cluster of five menwho were arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The official version speaks of a assaultbut rumors arose that the crime could have been commissioned by the Sign of Medellinsince a former military intelligence agent claimed to have received an offer to carry out the attack.
Gomez was a legislator known for his direct nature and his participation in projects controversial laws, such as the Money Laundering Law. His sister, Sky blue Gómez, assumed his position in the Senate after his death.
