Spanish
In 2015, an internal crisis within the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) forced the leadership of that organization to promote a constitutional reform to enable President Danilo Medina, who had been elected in 2012 through a constitution that prohibited consecutive re-election.
Medina was eligible to try to return in 2020, that is, after a period, a modality approved in the 2010 reform, made viable through the so-called "blue tie pact" signed between Leonel Fernández and Miguel Vargas Maldonado, which in turn replaced the two-term statute and never again approved in the reform of Hipólito Mejía, which, for its part, replaced the non-reelection of 1994.
As can be seen, the previous paragraph fully portrays what has been the eternal constitutional coming and going, reflecting the arrhythmia that has characterized the life of the substantive charter of the Dominican Republic for the last sixty years.
In reality, the only model that could be maintained for a relatively significant time (1966-1994) was the indefinite re-election that allowed Joaquín Balaguer to be re-elected to power for 22 years.
The fact is that it was thought that the 2015 reform, which arose to fix things for Medina and Fernández, would have a better fate, making it in some way permanent for some time, but this turned out to be a midsummer night's dream, because not two years passed before the very peledeístas who had signed the fundamental statute began to trample on it with the purpose of extending Medina's electoral validity, through a reform that would enable him for a third term in 2020.
It is appropriate to recall that the attempt to rehabilitate President Medina caused a leadership clash in the then-ruling party, which led to a confrontation with national repercussions, involving the National Congress with the mobilization of military and police troops towards that democratic precinct.
...And came the famous call—pure and simple interference in Dominican affairs—from then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to dissuade Danilo and his followers from the attempt at re-reelection.
...And then came the debacle in the purple plot after the primaries of October 6, 2019, which marked the beginning of the end of the unity, although sometimes precarious, in the plot founded by former President Juan Bosch in 1973, the product of another party split.
¿Abinader was clear, but not so much?
Upon assuming the presidency of the Republic in August 2020, Luis Abinader was clear that he was elected by a constitution that allowed him to seek re-election in 2024, and never again. However, this clarity did not satisfy him, which is why he insisted that other elements of strength be added to the Substantive Charter to prevent a possible modification with ease.
They were the so-called "locks" that, in the consideration of the head of state, will end the bad habit of the Dominican political leadership of accommodating the Constitution to their particular interests and ambitions for power. In that sense, there would not seem to be room for doubt as to whether Abinader could seek a way for those "locks" to be opened in 2028 to attempt a re-reelection.
However, in the Modern Revolutionary Party, comments have emerged in an attempt to sow doubts about the president's determination, with the eternal claim that "the president is still a young man who should not retire," among other interested claims and opinions.
And although the Constitutional Court has ratified what was already established in the fundamental law, these comments stop. However, for the arguments to be viable, the first thing would be to have the president's approval, which does not seem remotely possible, judging by what his behavior and conviction have been in this regard.
Why do those leaders play at political irresponsibility, if they are aware that President Abinader will not play along? There are those who conclude that these are trial balloons to gauge the reaction of the head of state.
It is whispered in the PRM that the intention to find a way out for a third attempt stems from the concern that, with the president being the most popular figure of the ruling party and the entire Dominican political spectrum, there is no certainty that any of the declared candidates can compete at his level with the opposition. The reality of the PRM is that it can forget about President Abinader, as it is a fact beyond any doubt that his time as a candidate will conclude in 2028, since there does not seem to be any possibility that the situation will change.
