People's Force

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
People's Force
Fuerza del Pueblo
AbbreviationFP
PresidentLeonel Fernández
Secretary-GeneralAntonio Florián
VicepresidentRadhamés Jiménez
Founded17 October 2019 (2019-10-17)
Split fromDominican Liberation Party
Preceded byDominican Workers' Party
HeadquartersAvenida Bolívar no. 101, esquina Doctor Báez, Gazcue, Distrito Nacional
Membership (2023)1,920,000[1]
IdeologyProgressivism[2]
Political positionLeft-wing[2][3][4]
Regional affiliationSão Paulo Forum
Colors    Green and white
Chamber of Deputies
27 / 190
Senate
3 / 32
Website
fuerzadelpueblo.do

The People's Force (Spanish: Fuerza del Pueblo, FP) is a political party in the Dominican Republic led by former President Leonel Fernández.

Amid accusations of electoral fraud in the primary elections of October 2019, Leonel Fernández resigned from the presidency and militancy of the Dominican Liberation Party. Later, the already established Dominican Workers' Party welcomed him and agreed to change its name to "People's Force" and have Fernández as their presidential candidate,[5] a change approved by the Central Electoral Board on 17 December of that year.

History

Emergence

Leonel Fernández presented his pre-candidacy for the presidency of the Dominican Republic in early 2018 with the intention of competing within his party in the simultaneous primary elections of October 2019. During this process, he made strong attacks on his party partner and former president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, urging him to desist from seeking a third consecutive term by re-election and to avoid attempting to modify the constitution. This situation came to be glimpsed in the National Congress but did not materialize given the political and social pressure that existed at that moment.[6] The peak of this process was reached when Leonel Fernández held a massive protest in front of the National Congress, formalizing an important division within the Dominican Liberation Party.[7][8][9]

After President Danilo Medina gave up on seeking a third term and modifying the constitution,[10] the Minister of Public Works and close collaborator of Medina, Gonzalo Castillo, presented himself as a pre-candidate for the presidency with the backing of the incumbent president, which generated internal friction. Finally, Fernández was defeated by a narrow margin by Gonzalo Castillo, after which he called the electoral contest a "fraud." This was followed by several protests, televised addresses, and challenges to the Central Electoral Board, though he never presented evidence or a formal complaint regarding his accusations.[11][12][13]

Ultimately, this led Fernández to resign from the presidency and membership of the Dominican Liberation Party, where he had been a member for more than 46 years.[14] Along with him, hundreds of members and dozens of public officials, including deputies and senators, resigned. However, Fernández called on followers who held elective positions or had won primary candidacies in October 2019 to remain in their positions and not resign from the party, enabling them to form an opposition from within the organization.[15][16][17]

Merger and name change

Originally, the political movement was called "The People's Force," matching the slogan Leonel Fernández used to rally his followers during the pre-electoral contest. Later, after the acquisition of the minority Dominican Workers' Party, the organization submitted a request to the Central Electoral Board to change its name to "People's Force," utilizing green branding and symbols alluding to vegetation and flowers. During a public hearing, the board reviewed these changes, which faced opposition from various political parties and individuals regarding the name, colors, and symbols.[18][19]

On 17 December, the JCE approved the name change of the Dominican Workers' Party to People's Force.

Exodus from the Dominican Liberation Party to People's Force

The People's Force has been strengthened mainly by the militants of the Dominican Liberation Party who continue to transfer to the new organization, creating a scenario in which the two parties are vying for the title of second majority in the Senate.[20]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election Candidate First Round Second Round Result
Votes % Votes %
2020 Leonel Fernández 365,226 8.90% Lost Red XN
2024 1,259,427 28,85% Lost Red XN

References

  1. "¿Realidad o exageración? Padrones del PRM, PLD, FP y PRD superan en total los 7 millones de militantes". 21 August 2023.
  2. "PTD-'La Fuerza del Pueblo' fue un partido de izquierda". Listin Diario (in Spanish). 21 October 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. "Leonel Fernández y su partido son izquierdistas, afirma Méndez". Acento (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  4. "In the Dominican Republic, the President's Likely Reelection Bodes Well for the Economy, But Challenges Remain". Stratfor. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  5. "Conocerán el lunes solicitud cambio de nombre del PTD por La Fuerza del Pueblo". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 5 December 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  6. "Se encienden rumores de reforma constitucional antes de primarias de octubre". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 27 August 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  7. "Grupos populares se suman a la protesta frente al Congreso Nacional". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 26 June 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  8. "Lucha interna del PLD llega al Congreso por posible modificación de la Constitución". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  9. Diario, Listin (July 16, 2019). "Leonel llama a protesta pacífica frente al Congreso". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  10. "Danilo anuncia que no irá por la reelección". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 22 July 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  11. EFE, Por (14 October 2019). "Leonel Fernández detalla fraude y lo tilda de "crimen bochornoso" - Telemundo 47". www.telemundo47.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  12. Diario, Listin (October 14, 2019). "Leonel: fraude se produjo desde Punta Cana, la Lincoln y una villa en Casa de Campo". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  13. Diario, Listin (November 26, 2019). "Leonel dice Gonzalo es un candidato ilegítimo por fraude en las primarias". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  14. "Leonel Fernández presenta su formal renuncia del PLD". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). October 20, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. "Renuncian 27 diputados del PLD y pasan a apoyar a Leonel Fernández". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  16. "Leonel autoriza a seguidores que ganaron primarias a seguir en el PLD ante posible salida". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 15 October 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  17. "Leonel insta a seguidores que ganaron en las primarias a permanecer en el PLD". El Nuevo Diario (República Dominicana) (in Spanish). October 16, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  18. "Cambio de nombre al Partido Trabajadores Dominicanos a Fuerza del Pueblo encuentra oposición". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 9 December 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  19. Diario, Listin (December 9, 2019). "Este es el nuevo logo del PTD, convertido en Fuerza del Pueblo". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  20. "Senador Franklin Peña y otros dirigentes del PLD se juramentan en Fuerza del Pueblo". listindiario.com (in Spanish). 15 November 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.