In his speech, Abinader demonstrated a tremendous number of accomplishments in the two years he has been at the helm of the executive branch, which has pleased some and angered others.
One of the first to criticize the President’s words was ex-President Leonel Fernández, who called them “a lot of foam and little chocolate”.
He added that the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) government excels at making grandiose announcements and exaggerating its few achievements.
These are presented as global references, through media scenarios, to show projects that are not then carried out, he said.
The leader of the People’s Force explained how long the list of promised and unfulfilled public works was, mentioning the Ámbar highway, Santiago-Puerto Plata and the Pedernales tourist area.
The syndrome of unfinished works, he said, extended to the entrances of Samaná and La Romana, to the port of Manzanillo, to the ring roads of Navarrete, San Francisco de Macorís, Azua and Baní.
The speaker of the deputy bloc, Omar Fernández, also spoke out in favor of this political force, calling the president’s words a re-election and no accountability, which the constitution requires to take place every February 27th.
He criticized that the separation of powers of the state was not recognized, since the speaker presented the laws tested and approved by the legislature as his own achievement and in this case the only contribution of the executive was to promulgate them as they were done by the Magna map.
In addition, he questioned how the reform of the Penal Code, a necessary norm given the crime spate the country is suffering and an outstanding debt to Dominican society, was the great absence.
Likewise, Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) presidential candidate Abel Martínez called the speech “a play” and asserted that the stage on which he spoke was perfect for “shows.”
Meanwhile, presidential candidate and former vice president Margarita Cedeño pointed out that what the president said was completely out of touch with reality.
In this regard, the General Secretary of the PLD, Charlie Mariotti, argued that there was actually little to celebrate.
But the defense of everything Abinader said was not small, as is the case of Progressive National Force leader Vinicio Castillo, who rated the speech very well.
He thought it petty to deny many achievements in the midst of great crises.
The Presidency’s Minister of Administration, José Ignacio Paliza, pointed out that the leadership of the current government and its leader improves the quality of life of the citizens.
The First Lady, Raquel Arbaje, in turn, claimed to be a witness to “Luis’s hard work, the few hours of sleep and his effort to ensure that our country moves towards real change”.
The 52 minutes of the President’s speech gave free rein to criteria, opinions, criticism and praise that do not seem to be silencing at the moment and it seems as if this would be the start of two years of steel in the air on the one hand to repeat the presidency and on the other hand on the other hand in search of lost spaces.
There will come times of encounters and misunderstandings, but leaders will not be able to lose sight of the fact that a high percentage of people, while searching among themselves for the four legs of the cat, are waiting for the arrival of what has been promised to overcome the crisis and to lead a dignified and successful life.
acl/ema