José Francisco Peña Gómez (March 6, 1937 – May 10, 1998) was a politician from the Dominican Republic. He was the leader of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), a three-time candidate for president of the Dominican Republic and former Mayor of Santo Domingo. He is considered, along with Joaquín Balaguer and Juan Bosch, as one of the most prominent Dominican political figures of the 20th century.
-From Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Francisco_Pena_Gomez)

His body was taken to the Olympic Stadium of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. There, masses of Dominicans wept over the loss of Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez, exceptional politician and weighty intellectual who was crudely kept out of reach of opportunities to change Latin American racial politics and the cause of democracy forever.
-From Dominican Today
(http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2009/4/19/31731/The-legacy-of-Dr-Jose-Francisco-Pena-Gomez)

Question: What is your opinion of Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez?
How do you grade his influence, if any, on the political landscape of teh Dominican Republic?

I think he was the most outstanding mass leader that the DR could have had on the last century, and the only one that was capable of controlling the PRD. Does anyone remember that party's crisis before the 1998 elections? Had he not held in check the differing political ambitions of the people aspiring to be the leader of the DN municipality (Julio Mariñez, Miguel Vargas et al.), I'm sure that this party would have splintered a long time ago.