Leonel: “The big scam of the poor with Senasa marks a horrible year for the Dominican Republic”

Santo Domingo.- The president of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) party and former president of the Republic, Leonel Fernández, described the year 2025 as "a horrible year for the Dominican Republic", when presenting a critical assessment of the economic, social and institutional situation of the country, during the end-of-year meeting organized by José Francisco Peña Guaba, together with the members of the Gran Alianza Nacional Electoral (GANAREMOS), which brings together parties, movements and organizations allied to the FP. As he began his speech, Fernández expressed that it was a great pleasure to meet everyone there, "being received by a friend and brother, José Francisco Peña Guaba", highlighting the political and human value of the meeting, as well as the cohesion that has been consolidating among the allied forces in the face of the upcoming electoral challenges. During his intervention, the political leader maintained that the Dominican Republic is undergoing a continuous slowdown in economic growth, which began in the last quarter of 2024 after the electoral process and deepened throughout 2025. He indicated that the official projections were corrected on several occasions, going from figures above 4 percent to an estimated 2.5 percent, which has caused, as he explained, a paralysis of the national economy, with a significant drop in trade sales and the non-fulfillment of more than half of the works promised by the government. Fernández warned that this economic situation has been aggravated by the deterioration of public services, particularly the electrical system, with prolonged blackouts that even affected the Las Américas International Airport, projecting a negative image of the country to the world. He also pointed out the recent incidents linked to the mismanagement of a substation in San Pedro de Macorís, which caused a severe impact on the Santo Domingo Metro and the cable car, generating situations of anguish, panic and risk for thousands of citizens. In that same context, he cited the deficiencies in the supply of drinking water in different communities and the failure of the tax reform project presented by the government, which, he affirmed, intended to significantly affect the people where it hurts the most, through the increase in the price of food.

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Referring to the case of the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa), the president of the Fuerza del Pueblo stated that the country faces "the biggest scandal in Dominican history," which he defined as "the great scam of the poor," pointing out that this case synthesizes the collapse of governmental credibility and the breakdown of the bond of trust with the citizenry.

Fernández maintained that, faced with this situation, a deep crisis of confidence has taken hold. “People have stopped believing, the illusion vanished, confidence evaporated”, he expressed, while stating that the government of the Modern Revolutionary Party “has no way to regain the trust of the people”, after recalling that the PRM came to power waving the banner of change and transparency, but has ended up disappointing the population, representing today regression and institutional deterioration.

In contrast, he affirmed that broad support for the opposing political project, made up of the Fuerza del Pueblo, the Bloque Institucional Socialdemócrata (BIS), the Partido Quisqueyano Demócrata Cristiano (PQDC), the Partido Demócrata Institucional (PDI), the Partido Socialista Cristiano (PSC) and other allied organizations, has been consolidating early on, with support not only from the popular sectors, but also from professionals, entrepreneurs and representatives of the middle class, who understand that to move forward as a country it is essential to regain lost confidence. The former president explained that the year 2026 will be key to deepening the political organization, applying the 35 measures adopted in the Ordinary Congress of the Fuerza del Pueblo and continuing to expand the alliance policy, with the aim of forming a solid bloc that allows reaching power in the year 2028. He maintained that the faith, optimism and trust of the people today are placed in that opposition project and that there is a commitment to honor that trust by always being on the side of the Dominican people. Upon concluding his speech, Leonel Fernández took the opportunity to wish a happy Easter and a prosperous year 2026, which he defined as the year of the consolidation of the victory projected for 2028, reiterating his message of closeness, commitment, and hope.