Now more than ever, we need the government we are proposing.
With those words yesterday, the vice president of the Republic and Gonzalo Castillo’s ballot partner defended the offer made by the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) for voters to vote for them in the elections next Sunday.
Dr. Margarita Cedeño stated that in the post-pandemic period of the coronavirus, a PLD government is needed, which she said has been “a master of the country’s macroeconomic stability.”
“In the governments of the PLD; of Leonel and Danilo, the country grew and that must be maintained, “said Cedeño during the Listin Diario Breakfast.
He stressed that “politicians grow when they move from the space where they are planted.”
Likewise, he spoke out for a renewal of his party that would pass to the youth and send old leaders home.
Equality of women
Cedeño, the second woman who holds the vice presidency of the Republic and the one who has lasted the longest in office, expressed her full support for the campaign “not a peso less”, which advocates equal pay for equal work for men and women.
“We are going to work intensively to achieve equal pay. We are close to achieving it, that is a matter of will, ”said the candidate, who said that in those attempts she has even met with the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep), whose leaders agree.
“There are studies that indicate that if we integrate all the women in the world to work, we could raise world GDP by 12%,” she added.
He said that the pandemic caused by Covid19 exposed the wage inequality that exists between men and women.
From the Vice Presidency
Cedeño, who since vice-presidency directs the government’s social programs, assured that the epicenter of the Covid pandemic was reflected in the labor market
“There is a health crisis and an economic crisis. One has an impact on the other and vice versa, ”added Cedeño.
He explained that the institution he heads is working to maintain social protection for those most in need and announced that in the next government more people will be integrated into aid programs.
“The double is a deception”
Cedeño also referred to the offer being made by the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) called the double, which consists of doubling the amount of money given to each beneficiary of the Solidarity card.
“Our program is not welfare or populist. It is not a vulgar deception, as the opposition is proposing it, ”said the PLD vice-presidential candidate.
He explained that doubling the aid, as promised, would mean an outlay of 10,000 million pesos per month, which would be close to 12% of the Budget.
“That is not true, it is not reasonable. It is a deception, and it hurts me that they want to deceive the people in that way, ”he insisted.
Cedeño said that through programs such as Progresando con Solidaridad, the social gap has been closing
He said that the aftermath of the coronavirus revealed that it was necessary to reduce that gap, and that is why the country has been able to face the situation better than other nations.
For Cedeño, poverty is a “monster with seven heads” and must be attacked in each one of them.
He said that is why you should vote for the proposal that the PLD carries, because as he assures, it is that the one with the best team and with more experience
About Leonel
And with regard to experience, she said that “there is a candidate selling experience (although he did not say it, it is her husband Leonel Fernández) but it is not given personally, but in a team.”
“What happens is that it has to be in a team and the best team has Gonzalo Castillo, and he will have the best vice,” he said at the time he smiled.
Despite the fact that she is now on court contrary to her husband, she admitted that her governments and those of Danilo Medina “have been exemplary” for Latin America.
However, she considers that her husband has not understood that the moments pass, and despite his great leadership, what is best for him now is to go after an international organization such as the Organization of American States (OAS).
She was confident that after a PLD victory, the organization will be reunited and the people who left with Fernández for the People’s Force will return to the party.
“As he (Leonel) has said, what broke in October will join in July, but with Gonzalo and Margarita,” he proclaimed.
Your surveys
According to Cedeño, the internal polls that the PLD manages give his candidate an advantage between 5 and 6 points, but that they continue working to win in the first round in these elections. “We have seen the negative impact of the opposition and the population must know who they are going to choose,” he said, referring to the denunciations of the last days that link PRM candidates with drug trafficking activities.
A good team
He said that since his ballot partner comes from the private sector, he knows how to delegate and they have made a good team.
He said that he has already defined what his role would be in a future government and that is to continue coordinating the social cabinet, which supports it becoming a ministry, since everything is ready.
Gonzalo is a hard worker, he has been extra efficient in the public sector. He has a great team, “he said.
He explains that as the poverty due to the virus is going to deepen, it is necessary that in a future government he directs the same cabinet because the saving of resources is needed.
There will be job losses, we will execute a cabinet with results so that the programs and the beneficiaries are not duplicated, he insisted.
The results
He said that households that are under social protection programs are happier and also have lower rates of violence, as has been shown in the measurements they make
He also highlighted that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says that poverty in the country would have increased by 7 percent if the Progressing with Solidarity program did not exist.
He explained that for this reason two million 100 households are registered in that program and categorized.
With the help of this program, he said, poverty has been reduced from 39% to 22%, which could rise to 25% due to the current situation.
He also explained that 63 thousand homes have come out of extreme poverty and a million 62 thousand people have come out of poverty
He promised that a government headed by Gonzalo will keep the programs phased as long as necessary or until the pandemic can be overcome.
Renewal of the PLD
Cedeño, who is a full member of the CP of the PLD, believes that the time has come for many leaders of the organization to go home and make way for a new generation.
That is why he anticipates that in a future Pelleista government, new faces will be given space.
He announced that this renewal will take place at the next congress to be held by the PLD
In addition, he said, when Leonel Fernández left the party presidency and with him a group close to him, the organization entered a new dynamic with more frequent meetings.
Margarita, the woman
He explained that although his work has its ups and downs he has the pride of having deepened the work of women in politics.
“The ladies have imposed that the candidates of the parties be a woman and that gender quotas are being met in the municipalities and the National Congress,” she proclaimed.
Another of his satisfactions that he said is that the citizenry already admits that a woman can reach the Presidency of the Republic
“It is very important that there is already a paradigm shift in the country. I have felt very comfortable with the support of the people, “she said.
Proposals
Among the main proposals leading to the vice presidency are:
Deepen and expand social protection programs. Work to reduce inequality and the gender gap. Also meet the objectives of sustainable developments that were agreed with international organizations. Also work on empowerment and integration.
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