His speech is leisurely but firm, he does not hesitate to answer questions, but more than anything, the former tourism minister, Francisco Javier Garcíaoverflows confidence in talking about their aspirations with a view to the presidential elections of 2028.
“I will not only be the candidate of the PLDbecause I have no doubts, but I will be the president of the Republic in 2028, “Garcia said to Free dialogue of this newspaper.
But the former tourism minister recently faced an obstacle in his fight to achieve the candidacy, when the Superior Electoral Court prevented him Dominican Liberation Party He chose a candidate, as happened in 2022, when Abel Martínez was chosen.
“In the 2020 elections, the PLD obtained 38 %, in those of 2024, 10 %. When we obtained 38%, I proposed to the president of the party that in May 2022 we had to choose the candidate of the PLD. If we did that time two years before, the logical thing is that this time we did it three years before. We all agree to do it now in 2026, “he said.
“I stated that the one who wants to PLD He leaves until October 2027 without a candidate, he is an ally of the PRM. First, because the Force of the people He already has his candidate. The PRM has candidates, in the PLD There are no candidates but applicants and we must wait for the Central Committee meeting to define that, “he added.
It is confident
The fact that this entity has ended third in the Presidential elections From 2024, García does not worry, because he considers that the organization has begun to get up.
“10 % was what the presidential candidate obtained, but in the municipal votehe PLD obtained 23 %, and that is the local leadership of the PLD. The game has repositioned again, there is a feeling of hope and has conditions to compete in the 2028 elections, “he added.
Concerned about education
Garcia warned about the situation of the education of the Dominican Republic and compared it to what was happening during the PLD government.
“That of returning to the discussion that there are students who are missing classrooms, that if they do not lack classrooms, that is painful for the Dominican Republic”PLD presidential applicant
He said there was not a school year in the governments of the PLD In which students They did not have their school supplies the day the teaching began.
“Everyone knows that this is a conquest of PLD Because students were not given school supplies, backpack, books, uniforms … and now the government said that 42 % of students At the beginning of the school year He would not have his supplies, “he said also questioning the shortage of classrooms.
Back to the past
The political leader questioned the executions of the government of the modern revolutionary party and Luis Abinader And he claimed that he lost a lot of the land won during the mandates of the purple party.
“I say this government reminds me of a television series that I watched when I was little, that television series time “; when I see what is happening with him Dominican electrical systemthe feeling I have is that we are watching the movie “The Tunction of Time”, because we have backed up 40 years with this problem, “he said.
Health
The politician also questioned the health situation of the Dominican Republic In 2025.
“I have traveled the country twice since July 2024 and I have visited all the provinces, first and then I visited all the municipalities of the country and most of the municipal districts and now I have visited three provinces and when I go to the municipalities; I ask how the health conditions are, the people the description that makes you public hospitals They are a kind of house of terror, “he said.
It also referred to the conditions of emblematic hospitals of the National District, such as the Salvador B. Gautier.
“Here, in the capital, you find the situation of the Salvador B. Gautier in which the Director of Cardiology denounces that there are situations for patients who are denigrating for their human condition, “he said.
Said there are a group of patients arriving to the hospital that must be admitted “And yet they have lasted two weeks on an emergency stretcher because a part of the rooms of that hospital has the problem that they are closed by the bad conditions, that there are no conditions to open it and that those that are open are rooms that are shared between men and women.”
He considered that this situation is simply unacceptable.
“If they tell me that this situation occurs in Burundi, in Madagascar, in Sierra Leone, it is fine because they are countries in Africa, with a level of frightful poverty; but in the Dominican Republicwhere the government is luxurious to spend tens of billions of pesos in pensions of people who do not need it. The government carries a waste policy … that the government cannot have 100 million pesos to solve the problem of such an emblematic hospital, so that is painful, “he said.
Garcia acknowledged that the PLD had successes and mistakes during its 16 consecutive years of government, but considered that its main problem was the fractionation that occurred in 2020 and that is why it works to recover the unity of the organization.
“People say” the world changed “and they mean that what happens now is different from before. The world has always changed, the transformation of society occurs in every minute. And they are the human beings who have to realize the changes. The main error we made was divided. If we had not divided, we would be governing,” he said. Escapes. “The first thing I must do is work in the Unit of the Dominican Liberation Party. That is why I do not touch with the petal of a rose to the companions who are competing internally in the party,” he said.
He also admitted that there were many things that could do different. “There are things that we did well and we could do them better, but the new Government of the Dominican Liberation Party will correct what is necessary. Yes I can say that we show that we are a legion of servers. There is not a single public service that did not improve during our government.”
He also valued the eight years of Danilo Medina’s mandate, as the best of Peledeist management. “I have identified every thing we must improve, we will raise those things that we needed to do due to lack of time. I recognize the 16 years of the Government of the PLD. I recognize that the best eight years were the last eight, of the President (Danilo) Medina, because he reaped Leonel’s work.”
