LF: Crisis in Conveyance of Ideas
Only consensus could Guaranty Governance in Dominican Republic and Latin America

Dr. Leonel Fernández

The sole way possible to guarantee a democratic governance and understanding among the various political forces in-country and in Latin America, is on the basis of a continued dialogue and the building of consensus, said the former president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández.

The president of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (FUNGLODE) added that doing otherwise will result in a violation that will make the political stability hard to maintain.

Leonel Fernández, during his participation in the seminar on "A New Crisis in Latin America?" emphasized that the building of consensus is an issue too complicated and complex.

´´No individual who reaches the government can think that, regardless of all the support obtained in his/her electoral victory, he/she will be able to govern solely on his/her criteria, leaving aside and excluding the other political forces" in the country.

(The 1996-2000 administration by Leonel Fernández characterized for the continued search for consensus with all Dominican social strata).

Communication Crisis

There is one aspect with regard to which politicians should not do so poorly; however, in practice politicians have proven to be very mediocre, and that is with respect to their inability to convey ideas with clarity.

Peter Hakim (right), president of the Inter-American Dialogue, who spoke on "Bush's Administration and his Relations with Latin America."

Dr. Arriagada (right), International Consultant and former Minister to the Secretary General of the Presidency of Chile, who addressed the subject on "Latin America: Opportunities and Challenges of Democracy."

Dr. Flavio Darío Espinal (right), ex Ambassador to the Organization of American States, who spoke on "OAS in a Turbulent Hemisphere."

Carlos "Chacho" Alvarez (right), former president of Argentina addressed and examined the issue on "Argentina: Between Crisis and Hope"

Dr. Max Puig (right)

Teodoro Petckcoff (right)

In this respect, Fernández stated that a communication crisis exists between politicians and societies.

He said that a politician may allege the lack of access to the front page of a printed mass medium, or that he/she is not given the opportunity to have his/her opinions published in a more or less relevant place; however in a country, as in the case the Dominican Republic, where electronic media such as television and radio exist, the press is permanently going after politicians for their statements and opinions.

He said that we have here an extraordinary scenario set out for politicians to be able to convey ideas that would allow them to obtain people's support, but on the basis of clear ideas and projects that would redound to the benefit of democracy and the quality of life of the people.

Fernández stated that what is indeed happening often is that in spite of having access to the media, the message does not have a clear content and fails to conform to people's aspirations and wishes to improve the political system and the quality of life.

He indicated that today's politics is not romanticism or idealism just because I like it, politics is a profession, and as such must be studied.

In the same way one hears saying that the future lies in the economy of knowledge, the economy of knowing, in my opinion such metaphor should be deployed also to the political arena, in addition to talking about the policy of knowledge.

´´A politician should be someone who is reflexive, fond of ideas, and understands that his/her political acting depends on ideas, but ideas do not fall from the sky, ideas have to be nursed," said Fernández.

The sad thing, he added, is that in Latin America there are no places where politicians can train as such.

Today political parties are not scenarios that contribute to the technical and professional training for the political leader.

Fernández reflected on what the Chilean international consultant, Genaro Arraigada said about the experience of Christian Democracy in his country, on how it reunites, on the basis of merits accumulated, young leaders from different parts of the world, who address the ideas that have to do with their political doctrine and the great problems affecting the various spheres of public life in contact with such leaders.

The Dominican politician pointed out that universities do not train politicians. An individual does not turn into a politician because he or she studied political science at a university o graduated in economy. That will equip him/her to make an effective contribution when he/she gets to the government.

´In my opinion there is a learning process that must take place in a different way," assured Fernández.

´´What we are talking about here is that you become elected president of the nation and you have not the slightest knowledge of what a tax policy of a nation is."

He spoke about the issue of not knowing what a balance of payment is or about conciliation, which to me has been a key factor in this process of deterioration of the Dominican Republic, as deep down the current crisis that the Dominican Republic is experiencing is a crisis of knowledge.

´´Understanding how to combine the tax policy, monetary policy with the exchange rate policy has been a failure. It is an issue of knowledge and how one gets to the government without the slightest idea of what one is going to handle, because one thing is for you to begin saying and talking through all mass media whatever comes to your mind. ´´

Further he indicated that to sit down to rule a nation with the intent to make it progress and move forward is something else, and I cannot dot it if I am not aware of the problems, if I am not well informed of, and that it is true not only here, but also in Latin America, and throughout the world, what is going on, because it is truly an interconnected world," explained Fernández.

When addressing such issues on the unreadiness of political leaders, the president of the Global Foundation talked about the need to create a Government School of the Americas, similar to Harvard University John F. Kennedy School.

That school would be for young people of the Americas to meet and share experiences and acquire knowledge from people who have had double the space of the academic and practical political exercise.

Participants in the "New Crisis in Latin America?" seminar convened by Leonel Fernádez included Dr. Arraigada, International Consultant and ex-minister to the Secretary General of the Presidency of Chile, who addressed the issue on "Latin America: Opportunities and Challenges of Democracy"; Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, who spoke on "Bush's Administration, and his Relations with Latin America."

Also, Dr. Flavio Darío Espinal, former Dominican ambassador to the Organization of American States, who spoke on ´´The OAS in a Turbulent Hemisphere," Carlos ´´Chacho´´ Álvarez, ex -president of Argentina, who spoke and went over the issue of "Argentina: In-Between Crisis and Hope"; Dr. Max Puig, ex -minister and National Authorizing Officer of LOME IV, who spoke about ´´Haiti: A Stagnated Crisis," and Teodoro Petckcoff, director of the newspaper "Tal Cual," who addressed the Subject on ´´Venezuela after the General Strike."

At the end of the talks, Fernádez made a recount and issued his opinions on the Latin American crisis, while the audience gave their opinions and posed questions.

SANTO DOMINGO, MAY 12, 2003.

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