Left-wing organizations call for pot-banging protests on August 15 and 16 to reject the Criminal Code

Santo Domingo.- Six left-wing organizations announced that they are joining the national repudiation campaign against the Penal Code recently approved by the National Congress and promulgated by President Luis Abinader, considering that this text, now a law, facilitates and reinforces impunity for corruption and other crimes. The Communist Party of Labor (PCT), Caamañista Movement (MC); Dominican Popular Movement (MPD), Homeland Party for All (PPT), Force of the Revolution (FR), and the Dominican Left Reference (RID), were represented by Luz Enedia Mejía, who said that the left-wing parties are uniting to carry out an intense national campaign to prevent the application of this abuse of power.

“Llamamos a iniciar esta campaña con dos iniciativas puntuales: DOS CACEROLAZOS de carácter nacional, en honor a la Restauración de la República y a la defensa de la dignidad de la Patria, uno el 15 de agosto, a las ocho de la noche y el otro el 16 de agosto a la misma hora, durante diez minutos ambos días”,

destacó Mejía.

He emphasized that the Penal Code approved by the National Congress and enacted by President Luis Abinader deserves a resounding national rejection.

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The spokesperson for the left indicated that the promulgated Penal Code removes criminal liability from the State (Government, Congress, Mayoralties, Municipal Districts), churches and political parties; it imposes unacceptable censorship and criminalizes protests. “Furthermore, it excludes the three grounds and punishes the interruption of pregnancy in exceptional cases, reduces penalties against sexist violence, disregards fundamental rights of women and the people, as well as protects the mistreatment of boys and girls,” said Luz Enedia Mejía. Similarly, the PCT, MC, MPD, PPT, FR, and RID maintain that the promulgated Penal Code reinforces despotism to the point of imposing up to 30 years in prison for sending documents or information to any foreign institution and establishing a one-year prison sentence for anyone who “insults a public official, or threatens him, or sends him writings, images”, or “makes gestures” of a nature contrary to his personal dignity and functions, which they described as a ¡Barbarity! The left-wing document is signed by Manuel Salazar, for the PCT, Narciso Isa Conde and Raúl Guerrero of the MC, Melanio Ferreira and José Ramos of the MPD, Juan Santana and Malen Campusano of the PPT, Neftalí Solís and Manuel Colón for the FR and Carlos Félix and Luis Emilio González of the RID.