SANTO DOMINGO.- Autoconvocad@s, a new independent political movement, affirmed Tuesday that Dominican society's dilemma is continuing to be bound to the purposes of the owners of traditional political parties and withstanding the deterioration and degeneration of government agencies, or instead to break from the yoke by articulating a movement of social and political response which fights for decency in public affairs.

The organization recently formed by citizens not linked to the traditional political parties said in the last few months, weeks and days said the country has seen how the ruling PLD and opposition PRD parties, which it calls “corporate groups” headed by president Leonel Fernandez and by Miguel Vargas, “head of the pseudo PRD opposition,” try to impose a new Constitution on the country.

Autoconvocad@s spokesman Pedro Catrain affirms that behind that new Constitution hides a purpose to prolong the reign of corruption and impunity, to satisfy the egos of catholic elites and consecrate the interest of private over public assets.  “We’ve also seen how the democratic spaces within those same parties of the system are closed, how frauds are done and candidacies prevail and how they ignore internal democratic norms without a bit of shame.”

He said the facts show the country is under a fraudulent regime designed intentionally to exclude most of the population from wellbeing and development, “a sort of social apartheid which condemns millions of people to live in subhuman conditions and without any types of rights.”

“The social policies maintain the seal of neoliberal compensation programs after reaping failures for two decades; health, education, electricity, highways and local roads get worse while the solidarity cards and light and gas subsidy bonds are oriented more than to fight poverty, to sustain a guarantee of electoral affections,” he said.

IMF agreement will raise the cost of living

“The stupidity of Leonel Fernandez’s Administration in handling crisis has led to handing over the management of the economy to the International Monetary Fund which will have as consequence the increase in the electrical bill, the increase in tax rates to the productive sectors and the increase of prices of family staples and the basic services,” Autoconvocad@s said.