A novel high-tech triangular system between Florida, Madrid and Santo Domingo
In a meeting with Madrid Foro Empresarial, the president of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) and also president of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) party and former president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, has announced that trade liberalisation with the United States (first investment partner) and the industrial Free Trade Zones make him think that it is necessary to move from an economic model of agro-exporters to a system with greater added value, turning the Dominican Republic into the transversal capital towards the North American high-tech market. Fernández also alluded to the technological corridor of the Americas, together with infrastructures for the development of the Dominican Republic, such as the cybernetic park, his government's first progressive initiative in power. Later, he reiterated the idea of creating a high-tech triangular system between Florida, Madrid and Santo Domingo.
The opposition leader stressed to this correspondent his conviction that there is no national solution to global problems. Speaking about the education system, insecurity in the Dominican Republic, unemployment, the upsurge in international migration and the cybernetic attack, Leonel Fernández specified that: "There are challenges that transcend borders, and affect us in the international framework, but there is no national solution to global problems".
In a relaxed atmosphere, with the presence of the former Spanish Minister of Justice, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, together with the former Vice-President of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Aguado, Leonel Fernández continued his speech, in a humorous tone in view of his delay, alluding to the fact that "Dominicans have created a new dimension to time, because we are not usually punctual", announcing that, in the regional context, the Dominican Republic is a unique case of constant growth, almost 7%, in the last 25 years, which is why it is necessary for Spain to be the Dominican Republic's strategic partner and to draw up a project between governments to strengthen the vision of the Spanish businessman who invests there.
As the former president revealed to this correspondent, the party that he leads, Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), aims to eradicate problems, if elected, such as the lack of schooling in schools, together with new security plans that reinvest the country's current situation. These are some of his current challenges, without forgetting his Artificial Intelligence plan together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is part of his own global Democracy and Development Foundation and which is an educational project with curricular content from kindergarten to the Baccalaureate. "This project encompasses education and artificial intelligence. We have proposed to the OEI that it be translated into Spanish in order to adapt it to the Latin American educational system". The aim is to encourage the use of technology from a young age.
The opposition leader has also assured that he will devote all his efforts to the aforementioned artificial intelligence project of Massachusetts and the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI), which he wants to implement in the Dominican Republic, once he is elected in the 2024 elections. He also mentioned to this journalist the results of a recent poll that revealed a technical tie with a margin of error of 2% between the current president, Luis Abinader, with 38.2% and Leonel Fernández, with 36.35, which indicates that if there were presidential elections at this time in the Dominican Republic, there would be a second round and potentially, it would be the political formation FP of the maximum beneficiaries. So everything indicates that Leonel Fernández could comfortably have the possibility of an electoral majority in the 2024 elections. "In the event of a second round of elections, the current president, Luis Abinader, and I would go through".
The Leonel Fernández who is running for the next elections has changed and adjusts to the reality of each moment. "In precarious conditions I won in 2020. We have had great achievements. My objective is to recover the space of the old party (PLD) and reconquer the social base of support. We are on course to satisfy more than 2 million members," he told this journalist.
Carmen Chamorro García, CIP/ACPE board of directors
