Santo Domingo.- Danilo Medina is being sworn in as President of the Republic today amidst great public expectations created by his campaign promises. Medina, an economics graduate, is a former deputy and presidency minister as well as a member of his PLD party’s political committee.

The president-elect was born on 10th November 1951 in Arroyo Cano, a poor community in the south west of the country.

His campaign promises for the next four years include maintaining macro-economic stability, reducing poverty, increasing purchasing power and boosting production.

He also pledged to prioritize women’s issues, fight femicides and include women in his cabinet.

He promised the middle classes that he would not let them lose their gains or their dreams.

In the area of education, he declared he would increase the budget to 4% of the GDP.

Medina promised to restructure the national educational system towards a single school day shift, dignified salaries for teachers and a decentralized Ministry of Education.

In the area of health, he said he would work towards universal coverage with quality services at a reasonable cost. He stated that the social security system would prioritize the poorest sectors.

When it comes to citizen safety, Medina said he would work towards eliminating violence and promoting high levels of security. He committed to “a fierce fight” against all types of crimes, with an emphasis on organized crime and drug trafficking.

Medina spoke of combating social crime, which he said was the result of poverty and marginalization.

He said that the best weapons for tackling these problems were education, employment and increased opportunities for the people. He also said he was committed to work and to he workers, and promised dignified salaries and job security.

The president-elect guaranteed he would adopt a set of measures for preventing administrative corruption. He has signed a pact with the civic movement Citizen Participation, in which he agreed to fulfil their 30 recommendations for transparency and fighting against corruption.

He declared in his proclamation speech: “I will arrive at the National Palace with my heart for the poor, but with a whip for the dishonest”.

Medina is taking over power in country that although stable, has a deficit estimated at close to RD$100 billion, and age-old, unsolved problems including poverty, electricity, education, violence and crime. One of his first tasks may be to sign an International Monetary Fund agreement involving fiscal reform and other unpopular measures. He will also have to take into account the international financial crisis.