Johnny Pujols, secretario general del Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD), sostuvo que el presidente Luis Abinader debería llamar la atención a sus técnicos por hablar distinto a la realidad.
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00:00We remember Avatar in 2009, and now with this it is consecrated as one of the main actresses on the big screen.
00:12As Dominicans, we are proud of Zoe Saldana, as we are proud of all Dominican immigrants.
00:23They don't necessarily have to win an Oscar or a prize as a baseball player,
00:31or get professional awards, but that common citizen immigrant who gets up under the snow or the sun to work every day
00:43and who sends those remittances to his Dominicans, remittances that contribute to stability, 11 billion.
00:52Zoe Saldana's triumph is a triumph of Dominican immigrants and all Dominicans,
00:58and that is why today we start with great joy, with great happiness,
01:03and of course, recognizing in Zoe Saldana the greatness, the dedication, and the great actress she is.
01:15On the other hand, moving on to the material, there is an interesting debate.
01:22You know that the government reached an agreement with Aerodón,
01:26where Aerodón had to advance 785 million dollars to extend the contract for 30 years.
01:36And at the time, the president enumerated the works that were going to be built with those resources.
01:46After the Caleta, Boca Chica, around the airport,
01:51and an extension in the great Santo Domingo and other municipalities with an investment of 350 million pesos.
02:00The Plaza de la Bandera, which is very important to what they call painting, but look at how that is going.
02:08That is still raw.
02:11The solution of the avenue of the Republic of Colombia with the avenue of Los Próceres,
02:15expressed by Jacobo Magluta.
02:19The bridge in Levadizo, which replaced the floating bridge in the Sama River.
02:23The bridge parallel to the Hacienda Peinado.
02:27The passage to Nivel on the Sabana Perdida Highway, La Victoria.
02:31The Traumatological Unit of San Cristobal.
02:34In addition, 139 small and medium-sized works.
02:38Although the director of the budget says that it is being fulfilled, it is not true.
02:44There is a management problem.
02:46He claims that respect for the budget law, the merengue.
02:53The reality is that in this government there is a management problem.
02:57Because there is the money, there are the resources, but the works are delayed.
03:04Of course, in cases where there is no money, things are still worse.
03:10And that is why there are works like the Circumvalación de Baní,
03:13which the president did not dare to mention now on February 26.
03:18He mentioned it in all speeches, but the Circumvalación de Baní.
03:22There is no way to finish it.
03:25The 9 of the Duarte Highway, there is no way to finish it.
03:30And just like that, logically the opposition takes advantage of this cut
03:35to insist that it has not been fulfilled.
03:38Well, I don't think it has not been fulfilled.
03:39There has been a delay problem for reasons of management.
03:47I don't care about the budget law and fulfillment,
03:50because look, when you want to do a work, you look for the legal way around it and solve it.
04:00On the other hand, the strength of the people has already finished the last phase
04:05of their congress, Flank and Almeida, and enters the most delicate phase, the election phase.
04:13In fact, there is an article in the daily list of Dr. Leonel Fernández on that topic.
04:18Now, Manolo Tavares Justo enters the electoral congress.
04:22And why do I say that he enters the most delicate phase?
04:26Because the strength of the people is forced to present new faces.
04:32And there is a stalemate that we hope is already on the way to a solution
04:37with the General Secretariat, where the current secretary is intended to remain,
04:42who has all the merits, who comes from the left, who was the one who handed the party to Leonel.
04:50Leonel did not buy that party, that is a lie.
04:54And Leonel, out of gratitude, would like Pellita to continue.
05:00Pellita has to be named Secretary General of the VITAS,
05:05because he does not have the physical conditions to do what has to be done there.
05:11There are several very good candidates.
05:13There is Dionís Sánchez, there is Franklin Rodríguez, César Fernández.
05:21The three would be fabulous Secretary Generals,
05:25because the president, obviously, is Leonel,
05:28and the vice president is Radamés Jiménez.
05:34So there has to be a renovation for the party to really begin strengthening
05:40and the battle with Miras on the 28th, which is not easy.
05:44Although I, the People's Force, is the leader of the opposition,
05:49it is a divided opposition,
05:52and with a divided opposition it is very difficult to win a government,
05:57regardless of the deterioration, regardless of the fact that the main asset of the party,
06:02which is Luis Abinader, is not going to be a candidate.
06:06But with a divided opposition, there is no possibility.
06:10The PRM will continue there.
06:14On the other hand, the news that went around the world, and continues to go around,
06:20was the clash in the Oval Office between President Trump,
06:24Vice President J.D. Banks, and President Zelensky of Ukraine.
06:30Because it was before the press.
06:32Trump himself said, this is a famous video.
06:35Almost always when presidents visit the United States and go to the Oval Office,
06:41that's when they talk about the results.
06:46But what happens?
06:47That because of the intervention of Vice President J.D. Banks,
06:50there is a discussion.
06:54Listen to me, and Zelensky, who is a man,
06:59we understand why he has been battling for three years,
07:03putting his life in danger, and has not given in.
07:07Because the peace that Trump wants in Ukraine,
07:11is that Ukraine gives him 20% of the territory to Russia,
07:16gives him half of the mineral wealth to the United States,
07:21without any kind of guarantee that there will be no other Russian occupation.
07:26And Zelensky planted himself in that.
07:28And he planted himself so much that Trump voted him out of the White House.
07:32But he gave a demonstration of manliness and respect for his people.
07:38The Trumpists are happy, the Russians are happy,
07:44because here there is an imperialist division.
07:48And the Trumpists are handsome, because someone told him the truth, Trump.
07:54Someone dared to tell him the truth in front of the cameras.
07:59He is not going to give the wealth of his people, without an agreement that guarantees it.
08:04And Russia has been a failure.
08:07Ukraine was the third nuclear power,
08:14and Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons,
08:19under the commitment that Russia would respect its sovereignty.
08:23And Russia did not comply.
08:25Minsk agreements were broken in 2014,
08:29after Russia invaded Crimea.
08:33And Russia committed itself to not invade, and it did not comply.
08:37So now, if there is no guarantee, Russia is going to invade Ukraine,
08:43and it is going to invade neighboring countries,
08:45because Putin is a bloody dictator who has imperialist aspirations.
08:52The return of Russian imperialism is impossible.
08:55It is a weak economy.
08:58It is a smaller economy than that of Italy, France and Spain.
09:04That was the main news.
09:06On the other hand, there is news from the United States,
09:10economic news that is not very good for the rest of the world.
09:14And also for the Dominican Republic.
09:18We have already seen that the Federal Reserve,
09:20due to the increase in inflation above estimated in January,
09:25stopped the process of dismantling the interest rate.
09:33And most likely it will increase it.
09:36Well, the news that does not have it, I give it to you as a premise,
09:40it does not have any newspaper,
09:42is that the Federal Reserve of Atlanta,
09:45the Federal Reserve of the United States,
09:47is made up of 13 Federal Reserves of different states.
09:53So the one in Atlanta predicted that the economy in this first quarter
09:58in the United States is going to fall by minus 1.5%.
10:04A month ago, they said it was going to grow 2.3%.
10:07That is the impact of Trump,
10:10that the market is already discounting inflation and also the fall
10:16due to the issue of tariffs.
10:18On the weekend, the Secretary of Commerce said
10:23that tariffs of 25% were going to be applied from tomorrow.
10:30But he says it depends on Trump's announcement.
10:33All of this, whether you like it or not, affects the Dominican economy.
10:38If the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, it affects us.
10:43If Mexico has to devalue its currency, it affects our tourism.
10:49If Canada enters a recession, it affects us,
10:52because Canada is the second emitter of tourists to the Dominican Republic.
10:57After the United States, Canada is the main emitter of tourists.
11:01So the Dominican government should have a plan B,
11:06because the world situation with Trump, as they say here,
11:11is not in the world situation.
11:19We are going to commercial break, do not miss the interview with the Secretary General.
11:23There is news from the PLD, but I preferred to leave it to comment with him personally.
11:31Johnny Pujols, Secretary General of the PLD.
12:01This morning's interview with an important agent to address important issues
12:28of the Dominican Republic.
12:34Johnny, thank you very much for accepting the invitation, starting the week.
12:38Thank you, Ramón, I am very happy to be here.
12:40Thank you, Johnny.
12:41And before we talk about the topics we have on the folder,
12:44I wanted to, because I mentioned it at the beginning,
12:47I am not going to talk about the activities of the PLD,
12:49I talked about the strength of the people,
12:51precisely so that the Secretary General, as a protagonist,
12:54can talk to us about what they did on the weekend,
12:57that the press highlights that it was apparently successful
13:00and that there was a lot of mass movement.
13:02The party is doing what it is supposed to do.
13:04I do not know if you remember that in December we had said
13:06that one of the most important responsibilities of the party
13:09and that it was pointed out by the Congress was the need to make opposition,
13:13to be on the streets, to accompany the people,
13:16and to have a clear, well-defined opposition agenda.
13:19I believe that this task, the direction of the party has been assumed by the political committee,
13:24the technical team, the Secretariat of Public Policies,
13:28and it is noticeable in the press statements that have been given.
13:32I do not know if you remember the Christmas bonus that we made in January.
13:35Then we set a position with the issue of USAID.
13:41We recently set a position with the resignation of the President
13:46on February 27 at 4 p.m.,
13:49but that is not something that we built on February 27,
13:53but since December, the entire technical team of the party
13:56has been evaluating the performance of the government
13:59and elaborating reports on areas.
14:02And then that was consolidated in the answer we gave
14:05as a result of the President's speech,
14:07but it is easy to evaluate a speech
14:10because you have an evaluation of the government.
14:13And the President of the party, since December,
14:16also together with us,
14:18we began a tour of the entire national territory.
14:21That calendar ends in June,
14:23and with it we have to visit the 32 provinces
14:27and the 12 circumstances of the Great Santo Domingo and of Santiago,
14:31that is, 42 demarcations in reality,
14:3442, 45 demarcations.
14:36So that is the task we are assuming now.
14:40It has been extremely successful.
14:43In Altagracia, the participation was massive.
14:46The problem has been the model, I would say.
14:48We started in San Cristóbal last year
14:52and we had said that it was an assembly with the leaders.
14:55And when we said leaders, we thought of the Central Committee
14:57and the Intermediate Presidents.
14:59But the colleagues complained,
15:01and in Santo Domingo and Altagracia this year,
15:05they have been massive,
15:07from the President of the Basic Committee upwards,
15:09but with a lot of quality.
15:10And you know it by the comments they make,
15:12by the shifts they take,
15:13by the positions they set,
15:15you see the quality of the leadership.
15:17So the problem is there intact.
15:19Our responsibility now is to put tasks
15:21so that the communities are accompanied,
15:23the Dominicans, in their struggle,
15:25in their daily life, in their problems.
15:27And that, therefore, that agenda will continue.
15:30Just like the President is going to start visiting
15:31the media this year.
15:33Well, we hope to have him here.
15:36That's right.
15:37Is it true that the presidential candidate
15:39is going to be pre-elected this year?
15:42No, what has been decided is that the Political Committee
15:47begins to discuss the protocol to follow
15:51for the election of the presidential candidate,
15:53the set of rules that are allowed
15:55in an unregulated period,
15:56which is the period prior to the pre-campaign,
15:58which, as you know, is not consigned to the law,
16:00that is, what is done,
16:01what things are allowed and what things are not allowed
16:04during this period,
16:05and also, above all,
16:07to guarantee the cohesion,
16:08the internal unity of the party.
16:11And, of course, the date is also going to be discussed
16:14for the election of the candidate.
16:16And the format, that is, the method
16:18that would be used for this election.
16:20All of these are decisions that the party's leadership
16:23has to make, and, therefore,
16:26we are going to say that this is the first meeting
16:28to discuss that, the meeting that the Political Committee
16:31has precisely today.
16:32Today?
16:32Today, today, Monday.
16:33What is clear is that they are not going to wait for the 28th,
16:37in case it is a new candidate, right?
16:40Well, let's see, there are all the alternatives.
16:42I don't want to get ahead of myself,
16:43because, in reality, it is a decision
16:45that the Political Committee has to make,
16:47and one respects very much the opinion
16:50that all the candidates may have,
16:52and each one has a different view
16:53of how the process is,
16:55and what we have to look for is the method,
16:59the most convenient format
17:01for the interests of the organization,
17:02because the PLD has an advantage,
17:05which is its structure and its positioning as a brand,
17:08including its implementation sheet
17:10in public work, right?
17:13So, that positioning makes the PLD
17:16have a level of preference as an organization,
17:18even without a candidate,
17:20and that has to be taken care of,
17:21it has to be protected,
17:22because that is what we have as a party,
17:24that is the most valuable asset
17:26that all the PLD militancy has.
17:30John, the President's words are still in the air.
17:33The President paints a picture
17:34that the economy is doing very well,
17:38the electric sector is doing very well,
17:40education is advancing in an extraordinary way,
17:43health, in short, everything is going well,
17:49anyone would say that we are in an idyllic country,
17:52the country has no problems,
17:54there is no poverty,
17:56poverty will be erased in the rest of these four years,
17:59there will be no extreme poverty, in short.
18:01I don't want to go into all the elements of the speech.
18:05Well, the President,
18:08I think you have to call his technicians' attention.
18:13I think all presidents try to talk about the things they did
18:16and omit the things they haven't worked on,
18:18obviously,
18:20but not referring to the elements
18:23that can be uncomfortable for the speech,
18:25that is clear,
18:26but one thing is that,
18:27and another thing is that you make him talk about
18:28different things than reality,
18:30even sometimes different figures
18:33than those that are in the same portals
18:35of public institutions,
18:37for example, the President talked about a reduction
18:40of the femicides, of 20%,
18:43but the reality is that the femicides,
18:46he used the word average,
18:48average, right?
18:50The average of these four years is lower
18:51than the average of the previous four years,
18:53but it is that in the previous four years,
18:54let's remember that the homicide rate was going down,
18:56if you take four years from 2016 to here,
18:59we in 2012 found it at 18,
19:01we left it at 9.2,
19:03and that was systematic,
19:04year after year, going down, going down, going down,
19:06so if you take a whole period and average it,
19:10you, engineer, know that you are going up,
19:12where did you find it?
19:13You found it at 9.4,
19:15you are taking a higher list to feel that it went down,
19:19but when you compare it year after year,
19:202024 against 2019,
19:23it is higher, 9.7,
19:25and that the government raised it,
19:28it went up a lot in the first years
19:29of the government of Luis Abinader,
19:31the homicide rate is really 15% higher
19:34with respect to 2019.
19:39There are cases, like the ones that happened,
19:41a dozen cases in June of 2024,
19:45that have not even been solved,
19:47and the most serious problem is that
19:49when you turn your back on reality,
19:51in the political discourse,
19:53one does not know if that is also going to be,
19:55that same is going to be the reaction
19:56of the civil servant in public policy,
19:59if you do not know a reality,
20:00if you cannot recognize it,
20:01how are you going to act on it,
20:03how are you going to solve that problem,
20:04because you are not recognizing it.
20:07With respect to the electric sector,
20:08I think it is worth talking about it,
20:11the loss, that is,
20:13they went from 27% to 45%,
20:16the past electricity subsidy
20:18from 450 to 1,600 million,
20:20but at the same time,
20:20the operating expenses of the headquarters
20:22have increased drastically,
20:24the number of employees in the headquarters
20:26has also increased drastically,
20:28the investments you made in the system,
20:31in the transmission systems,
20:32in the electrical networks,
20:34have decreased by almost 83 million dollars,
20:37so what is in the electric sector
20:40is really a collapse,
20:41and the president talks about clean energy,
20:43renewable energy,
20:45but that is insufficient,
20:46and you know it,
20:47because that energy is not available all the time,
20:49for many reasons,
20:50and there is no way to store it yet,
20:52we do not have adequate storage systems,
20:55so I think they used,
20:59the figures were very accommodated,
21:02the data that had to be presented,
21:03so that they were seen as results
21:05or achievements that do not exist,
21:07and that Dominicans cannot perceive,
21:09in the case of the cost of the basket,
21:11it was scandalous to talk about
21:13that things are going well,
21:16or that we have record production
21:17in some foods like rice,
21:19when it is quite the opposite,
21:20you go to the Ministry of Agriculture
21:22and realize that rice imports
21:24have increased by 340%,
21:26how do you have a record production,
21:28if the population has not doubled,
21:31if you are importing 300% more,
21:33and the president also talked about zero hunger,
21:36we are not walking in the direction
21:38of building a country of zero hunger,
21:41the closest we had to this
21:43was when FAO recognized
21:44that the Dominican Republic
21:46had 90% self-sufficiency,
21:48of food sovereignty,
21:50and that was in our governments,
21:52precisely because of an adequate policy
21:54towards the agricultural sector,
21:56of support, of technification,
21:58of resources,
21:59of technicians who accompanied
22:01the agricultural production,
22:02of planning,
22:03that was practically erased,
22:06and has been replaced
22:07by an aggressive policy of imports,
22:09which decalibrates the agricultural system
22:11and therefore impairs the prices of food.
22:13It is also called attention, Johnny,
22:16that it lowers poverty,
22:17it lowers extreme poverty,
22:19but it increases the number of beneficiaries
22:21in social programs.
22:23Yes, of course,
22:24what is lowering extreme poverty
22:26because in reality many people
22:28are in a much more comfortable condition,
22:30they are receiving subsidies
22:32from the state,
22:34and well, we agree
22:36with the policy of subsidies,
22:38but they were conditioned,
22:40they were to guarantee that people
22:42would get out of that condition,
22:44not that more people
22:46would enter that condition of vulnerability,
22:48they needed the help of the state,
22:50that is, the matter is also very relative,
22:52we know that people
22:54are living much worse
22:56and the fact that people
22:58are in debt, half of the Dominicans,
23:00to eat, implies that there is
23:02a very difficult situation in the country.
23:04So, of course,
23:06monetary poverty, as has been said,
23:08has decreased, but that is not enough,
23:10just as saying that the Dominican Republic
23:12its economy continues to grow,
23:14but that does not happen now either,
23:16we have been in that situation for about 50 years
23:18and that cannot be attributed
23:20exclusively to a single government,
23:22the PLD, which governed for 20 years,
23:24and that growth promoted it
23:26and guaranteed peace and stability,
23:28that is, let's say it is the legacy
23:30of many years and many generations,
23:32really.
23:34Johnny, and the debate
23:36about the works that the President
23:38promised and that were listed
23:40with the resources of Aerodrome,
23:42and that now
23:44there are statements
23:46by the President
23:48saying that yes,
23:50that works are being built,
23:52they go through legal issues,
23:54budgetary issues.
23:56Yes, and not only that,
23:58but also that it gives the impression,
24:00or there is data at least,
24:02that part of those resources
24:04have probably been used
24:06for works that were initially
24:08not conceived.
24:10And that is quite painful,
24:12dangerous too, because let's remember
24:14that what we did with Aerodrome
24:16was first to commit
24:18to a decision that
24:20would lead to a subsequent government.
24:22To bring those resources now,
24:24to execute them,
24:26resources that they had to receive
24:28for a period of 10 years,
24:30we brought them and we are going to spend them
24:32now, all together.
24:34Therefore, it is as if we had,
24:36it is almost like taking a loan,
24:38as it has been done with other sectors,
24:40with banks, with Barrigol.
24:42So, one worries a lot
24:44about the reality that later governments
24:46will find, because they are income
24:48and more if now they are not used efficiently.
24:52We have said in the speech
24:54that an important part of the public debt
24:56is used for ordinary spending.
24:58That is why the very low capital investment.
25:00A few years ago,
25:02it is not that the debt is bad,
25:04you are an economist, you know it,
25:06the reality is that we turned
25:08the debt into infrastructure,
25:10in schools, in hospitals,
25:12in development, in companies,
25:14in works that had
25:16a very high return,
25:18in social terms for the population
25:20and in economic terms for the State,
25:22like Punta Catalina,
25:24which ended up being a huge savings for the State.
25:26We would not have electricity
25:28today without Punta Catalina.
25:30But today we see that the public debt
25:32is being used to finance the ordinary spending
25:34of the government and that is extremely dangerous,
25:36pernicious.
25:38And on the other hand,
25:40as you said, a great number
25:42of works that were promised
25:44are still part of the promise
25:46in the President's speech.
25:48This year he did not refer to them.
25:50But that was already
25:52in a hurry, right?
25:54Because in the first four,
25:56in the first three previous statements,
25:58the President promised again.
26:00This year it will be ready,
26:02the Lambart highway,
26:04the circumvallation of Baní, and I do not know what.
26:06So this year he did not refer
26:08practically to the subject of public work,
26:10he did not refer at all.
26:12He has already taken to inaugurate sections.
26:14That is, the civil servant
26:16takes the President
26:18or the same minister,
26:20and they inaugurate two kilometers of road.
26:22But it is a work that has an impressive amount
26:24of kilometers.
26:26Or when they inaugurated the 9.
26:28Without being ready.
26:30It is not ready yet.
26:32Or how they inaugurated a sidewalk
26:34next to the armed forces.
26:36But that is something that corresponds to the City Council.
26:38One is impressed,
26:40and the other is the result
26:42of the absence of public policies.
26:44As there are not many things to show,
26:46anything is a lot.
26:48Anything is relevant.
26:50That is one of the most serious
26:52of this low level of investment.
26:54That is, tax policy does not stimulate the economy.
26:56And then the central bank
26:58that has to make that effort
27:00and is not being able to do it,
27:02with the aggravating that we have
27:04low rates, interest rates,
27:06and the exchange rate goes up.
27:08And as you said,
27:10if the United States raises
27:12the interest rate,
27:14we will react in the same direction.
27:16That is, it seems that it will not change much.
27:18It will not give hard.
27:20And there, the FED
27:22is truly autonomous.
27:24Trump can insult the president of the FED.
27:26That has no effect.
27:28But they make the decision.
27:30Johnny, with your permission,
27:32let's go to a commercial break.
27:34We still have many issues
27:36of the PLD.
27:46Let's go to the second part of the interview
27:48with the Secretary General of the PLD,
27:50Johnny Pujol.
27:52We are seeing,
27:54perhaps too early,
27:56not a war of surveys,
27:58because a war of surveys implies
28:00surveys on both sides,
28:02and we only find surveys on one side,
28:04and we only find surveys on one side.
28:06And we have a panorama
28:08with a precandidate
28:10of the PRM,
28:12who wins a lot for everyone,
28:14but also a PRM
28:16who wins on the street,
28:18adding to the two main
28:20opposition parties,
28:22that any of their candidates,
28:24but precisely that candidate,
28:26takes a mile to Leonardo Fernández
28:28and to any of you.
28:30Perception is being created
28:32and sometimes perception becomes reality.
28:34Yes.
28:36I think it is a common practice
28:38of the PRM.
28:40In the past four years,
28:42they used surveys as a mechanism
28:44to position.
28:46And it worked.
28:48So, perhaps it is intended
28:50that the situation is the same.
28:52But what I feel is that the Dominicans
28:54were generous with the PRM government,
28:56because in the first four years
28:58there were no achievements to show,
29:00there was no government work,
29:02and yet they re-elected the president.
29:04And it was all based on the idea
29:06that he had intentions, good intentions,
29:08and all that.
29:10And people kind of gave him that back.
29:12In addition to all the extremely aggressive
29:14policy of the PRM
29:16to deposition the political opposition,
29:18specifically the PLD,
29:20and all the policy
29:22of buying leaders,
29:24because that happened.
29:26I remember the mayors.
29:28Oh, yes, of course.
29:30And deputies of the opposition.
29:32And then the same day of the municipal elections,
29:34with practically the kidnapping
29:36of the precincts, with tents and all that,
29:38which was denounced by the opposition.
29:42Apart from that,
29:44I think that the reality today is not the same,
29:46nor will it be allowed to do that.
29:48There are measurements, well,
29:50one does not stop to discredit the survey.
29:52We have our own measurements.
29:54The truth is that, to be very honest,
29:56I think that,
29:58from the political activity,
30:00if there is something that we have to recover,
30:02it is the truth.
30:04We have to learn to speak the truth.
30:06Sometimes the truth is uncomfortable,
30:08but we have to say it.
30:10The political parties have lost
30:12a lot of root in the perception,
30:14in the sympathy of the population.
30:16Most Dominicans do not feel sympathy
30:18with any political party.
30:20Therefore, any party that you tell
30:22that it has 40% sympathy,
30:24that is nonsense.
30:26And that abstention?
30:28Yes, abstention is evidence of that.
30:30And it is also evidence of some despair.
30:32And that is dangerous,
30:34because we have allowed
30:36political activity to be discredited.
30:38Sometimes, from the same power
30:40in these four years,
30:42it was intended to discredit the PLD,
30:44but we do not realize that we are discrediting
30:46a party of the system.
30:48And therefore, we are discrediting
30:50political activity.
30:52It has definitely had an impact,
30:54besides that people, as I say,
30:56feel desperate.
30:58And we, perhaps, the first task
31:00we have to do is to start talking
31:02to people, not in electoral terms,
31:04because we have a problem with politics.
31:06And it is that, unintentionally,
31:08or without intending it,
31:10or sometimes wanting to,
31:12we intend to use, to instrumentalize people.
31:14That is, everyone who comes to us,
31:16we think how they can support us
31:18to achieve power,
31:20we stop talking with the heart
31:22of the people.
31:24And perhaps, to regenerate hope
31:26and hope is to talk with the heart
31:28and talk about the needs of the people,
31:30not about the problems we have with politics.
31:32And perhaps that is the first challenge we have.
31:34And well, the polls are a bit irrelevant
31:36because people do not believe that much.
31:38They do not believe that much.
31:40Johnny,
31:42do you think that
31:44the selection of Jenny Berenice,
31:46who is a prosecutor
31:48of the Republic,
31:50is a sign that she is being directed
31:52against you?
31:54No, I think that
31:56against the PLB there was a policy
31:58of persecution, definitely.
32:00We talked about it here before.
32:02But I think that
32:04in the case of the prosecutor,
32:06it is a decision that the president made
32:08and we knew that the president had the prerogative
32:10to make that decision.
32:12Apart from any constitutional modification
32:14that was made, it is the president
32:16who has the prerogative to do that.
32:18Therefore, it is his prerogative.
32:20And the important thing is that in all cases
32:22justice prevails and the truth prevails.
32:24I think that no political party
32:26can aspire to anything more than that.
32:28Because if there is justice and there is truth,
32:30there is equality.
32:32And therefore, that can favor us all.
32:34That is the important thing.
32:36Do you expect
32:38that there will also be
32:40action on the cases of this government?
32:42Yes, of course.
32:44Last week,
32:46ETICA sent 40 files to the PECA.
32:4847.
32:50The Anti-Corruption Unit
32:52sent more than 400 files.
32:54Well, none of those more than 440.
32:56And the General Direction of Purchasing and Hiring
32:58also said that they found irregularities
33:00in a large number of
33:02procurement processes
33:04and that they had sent them to institutionalizing institutions.
33:06So,
33:08we have not seen a reaction
33:10with respect to those cases, to those scandals.
33:12From the moment
33:14that the president,
33:16in the context of a massive public questioning,
33:18separates an official
33:20from the function,
33:22it is a recognition that there is something
33:24that is not right.
33:26However, we have not seen
33:28that there is any real investigation.
33:30The priority was given
33:32to the cases or the questions
33:34that were around our party.
33:36Johnny,
33:38the 28th is far away.
33:40To predict
33:42and work with surveys,
33:44but there is a real situation.
33:46That is, it is difficult
33:48to defeat a government
33:50when the opposition is divided.
33:52The PLD enjoyed that.
33:54Of course, the work of the PLD
33:56was very important and the country appreciated it
33:58at the time until it was divided.
34:00But you always
34:02had the opposition
34:04divided.
34:06Or the main opposition party,
34:08the PLD, internally divided.
34:10Is it possible
34:12to defeat this government,
34:14the PRM, divided?
34:16I think
34:18the time will come
34:20when the opposition will discuss
34:22its responsibility,
34:24especially when it comes to opposition.
34:26I think there are
34:28issues that
34:30unite us in that sense.
34:32That is, our adversary
34:34is the government. Therefore,
34:36cannibalizing the opposition,
34:38cannibalizing each other,
34:40trying to chase each other,
34:42is an incorrect policy.
34:44It is an incorrect view of the responsibility
34:46that we have in front of history.
34:48Therefore, our eyes must be
34:50on the government.
34:52And then, about the electoral alliances,
34:54that has its moment.
34:56We will have to see how we discuss it,
34:58what kind of agreements can be produced,
35:00if they are convenient,
35:02and what scope they would have.
35:04Perhaps the opposition
35:06has lacked the capacity
35:08to accept, with sincerity,
35:10to discuss what is most convenient for the country.
35:12The last alliance was not good,
35:14it did not work.
35:16No, because it was not sincere,
35:18it was not genuine.
35:20It was an alliance in which both organizations
35:22tried to protect each other.
35:24Therefore, you go with fear
35:26to sit with your ally.
35:28And so it is very difficult
35:30to cook a real alliance.
35:32If not, how could our organization
35:34advance relatively in front of the other?
35:36And that was a mistake that we made
35:38from both main organizations,
35:40because there were more.
35:42Johnny, today the PLD shows new faces.
35:44You are an example.
35:46And there are many young people,
35:48brilliant in the political committee.
35:50The old guard remains.
35:52Do you think that
35:54is going to be a magnet
35:56for that number
35:58of majority voters
36:00who are going to exercise
36:02the right for the first time
36:04and who, if they do not work,
36:06are going to abstain?
36:08Yes, we have to make that effort
36:10to generate the illusion
36:12so that many young people
36:14want to participate in political activity.
36:16Many young people who have
36:18the genuine interest
36:20to participate in political activity
36:22and to transform reality.
36:24It is a huge sacrifice
36:26that is made of politics.
36:28But it is necessary.
36:30We can not leave it to anyone.
36:32We can not go out.
36:34All the people who have certain values,
36:36who share those values,
36:38can not get away from that activity
36:40because who are we going to leave it to?
36:42So we have to look for those young people
36:44who have a certain training,
36:46who can participate,
36:48who can do political activism.
36:50And at the same time,
36:52I can tell you, in the case of the PLD,
36:54when you look from bottom to top,
36:56the majority of the party's militancy
36:58are young people.
37:00Almost 50% are young people,
37:02under 35 years of age.
37:04But when you go up to the levels of leadership,
37:06in the Central Committee, for example,
37:08I think 5% of the Central Committee
37:10are young people.
37:12So I think yes,
37:14the fact that young people
37:16have been able to reach the Political Committee,
37:18have assumed responsibilities
37:20in the territory as well,
37:22is a magnet,
37:24or at least an example
37:26that the PLD is giving the opportunity
37:28to different generations to live together,
37:30to share, and to dream together.
37:32And that is very important.
37:34In fact, the candidates who have been elected
37:36are young people, fresh faces.
37:38Fresh faces, exactly.
37:40And young people too, there are young people.
37:44Johnny, I know what you have,
37:46that's why I'm going to let you go earlier.
37:48Because you had a meeting of the Political Committee,
37:50and although you are relatively close to the House of Representatives,
37:52it is difficult at this time.
37:54I thank you very much for addressing
37:56so many issues of interest.
37:58And I look forward to seeing you soon.
38:00That's how it will be, I promise.
38:02Thank you. The channel is open.
38:04Thank you, I know.
38:06We are going to commercial break,
38:08the final stretch of Telematutino 11.
38:22Telematutino 11
38:48It is interesting the participation
38:50of the general Johnny Pujols,
38:52of Nueva Cosecha,
38:54of young politicians,
38:56who represent the hope
38:58that this system of parties
39:00continues
39:02and does not happen
39:04what has happened to most
39:06of the traditional party systems
39:08in Latin America,
39:10with the aggravation that they have been replaced
39:12by alternatives,
39:14which are today what is happening
39:16in Venezuela, for example,
39:18or what has happened in other countries,
39:20that the alternatives have been worse
39:22than those of the traditional parties.
39:24Quisayo insists a lot
39:26on the international issue.
39:28Sometimes you read the newspapers
39:30and you don't see
39:32many international issues.
39:34And sometimes, or sometimes not,
39:36always an international event
39:38has more weight
39:40in the country's economy
39:42than national events.
39:44Here, for example,
39:46we have very good governments
39:48and authorities.
39:50I also do not oblige them.
39:52With that growth of 5%,
39:54with low inflation,
39:56we are happy.
39:58The country is growing.
40:00And we have world events
40:02that can affect
40:04that growth,
40:06and that will affect it,
40:08because the projection for this year
40:10is not 5%, it is 4.5%.
40:12Last week we had
40:14an economist
40:16who talked about
40:18being careful,
40:203.5%.
40:22He said it more in days.
40:24If there are tariffs
40:26against Mexico and Canada,
40:28that gives us.
40:30Because, as I said,
40:32Canada is a tourist emission.
40:34Those tariffs
40:36will give that economy a hard time.
40:38If there is a recession,
40:40fewer Canadians will travel abroad.
40:42Mexico would devalue
40:44its currency.
40:46And if Mexico devalues
40:48its currency,
40:50it makes its tourism cheaper.
40:52And our main competitor
40:54in tourism in the region
40:56is Mexico.
40:58It is the Caribbean coast
41:00of Mexico,
41:02which receives 20 million
41:04tourists.
41:06If they make that tourism
41:08cheaper than ours,
41:10they will be able to take away
41:12tourists.
41:14But if the United States
41:16goes into a recession,
41:18as the outlook shows,
41:20as I told you,
41:22one of the banks
41:24of the Federal Reserve
41:26predicted a 1.5% drop
41:28in this first quarter,
41:30the Trump effect.
41:32If there is a recession in the United States,
41:34what does that mean?
41:36That people have less money,
41:38have less money,
41:40and will not be able to send
41:42the amount of remittances
41:44they are currently sending.
41:46Notice how the measures
41:48that the United States
41:50is taking against
41:52other countries
41:54affect the Dominican Republic,
41:56because it is an interconnected world,
41:58it is a globalized world,
42:00although we are in the presence
42:02of a process of de-globalization
42:04that could be very disordered.
42:06Kind viewers,
42:08I thank you for staying with us.
42:10Remember that
42:12all this material
42:14is on YouTube.
42:16At any time you can see the interview,
42:18see the comments, and God willing,
42:20see you tomorrow
42:22with a lot of faith,
42:24with a lot of enthusiasm,
42:26because the Lord is in control.
42:38See you tomorrow.