José Francisco Peña Gómez

José Francisco Peña Gómez (born March 6, 1937 in La loma de El Flaco, Cruce de Guayacanes, Valverde Province , Dominican Republic ; † May 10, 1998 in Cambita Garabitos, San Cristóbal Province , Dominican Republic) was a Dominican politician . From 1973 he was the successor to Juan Bosch the leader of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD), first as general secretary, from 1986 as president of the party. He ran three unsuccessfully for the presidency of the country (1990, 1994 and 1996). 1982 to 1986 he was mayor of Santo Domingo , 1983 to 1998 vice-president of the Socialist International and president of its committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, SICLAC. Together with Joaquín Balaguer and Juan Bosch, he is considered to be one of the most prominent politicians in the Dominican Republic of the 20th century and one of the most popular political leaders in the recent political history of the Dominican Republic, especially among the poor.

Life

Peña Gómez was the son of Oguís Vincent, an illegal Haitian immigrant, and the Dominican María Marcelino. He was adopted as a toddler by a peasant family after his parents had to flee to Haiti (where they died) in 1937 because of the massacre ordered by dictator Rafael Trujillo against the Haitians that year . The family raised Peña Gómez like their own son and gave him her name. Peña Gómez's opponents later used his Haitian origins against him.

Peña Gómez showed an immense thirst for knowledge and a great interest in developing himself early on. At the age of eight he was already working in a grocery store and a bar and had jobs as a shoemaker and hairdresser apprentice during his youth. In 1952, at the age of 15, he became a teacher in a literacy program for poor children in his home province, and later worked as a teacher in rural schools. In 1959 he moved to Santo Domingo, where he attended a radio course and, due to his talent, was soon used by a radio station as a commentator on baseball games and other sporting events.

In 1961 he completed a course in political science in San José (Costa Rica) and a course in political education in San Juan (Puerto Rico) . In 1962 he continued his education in political science at Harvard Universities in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Michigan in East Lansing , USA . After his return to the Dominican Republic, he began to study law at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo , where he received his doctorate in 1970 with the dissertation Fracaso de la democracia representativa a la luz del derecho constitucional (The failure of representative democracy in the light of constitutional law) PhD . In 1971 and 1972 Peña Gómez graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and constitutional law and labor law . He thus had four academic degrees.

Proof of his intellectual ability is also his command of seven languages, including French, Italian, German, Russian and Latin.

Peña Gómez was married three times, first to Julia Idalia Guaba Martínez, with whom he had four children: Lourdes Fátima, Luz del Alba "Luchy", José Francisco Peña Guaba ("José Frank") and Francisco Antonio "Tony" Peña Guaba. His second wife was Ana Rosa Meléndez (former director of the Museum of Dominican Art), with whom he had the daughter María Rosa Peña Meléndez. His third and last wife was Alba "Peggy" Cabral Cornero, daughter of Dominican writer Manuel del Cabral , with whom he had no children. She is one of two co-presidents of the PRD. Peña Gómez had a total of ten children, in addition to the aforementioned Angela, Desiree, Abril, Arleny and Ana Rosa.

In 1994 Peña Gómez was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After treatment in the United States, he appeared to have overcome the disease, but it broke out again, and Peña Gómez shuttled between Santo Domingo and New York for treatment until his death. He eventually died of pulmonary edema .

Dominican civil war and exile

Since 1961, Peña Gómez followers of Juan Bosch , then leader of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). Bosch won the first democratic presidential election in 32 years in 1962, but his government was overthrown in a military coup on September 25, 1963 . In 1965, Peña Gómez gained greater prominence when he called for an uprising against the military junta and for Bosch to be reinstated as president during the Dominican Civil War on Radio Santo Domingo . US President Lyndon Johnson then ordered a military invasion to prevent what he feared would be a communist movement in the country.

Peña Gómez fled to France. Even in his two-year exile, he tried to ensure that human rights violations in the Dominican Republic were internationally condemned. He made contact with international groups that played an important role for him later and until his death.

Mayor of Santo Domingo

1982–1986 Peña Gómez was mayor of Santo Domingo. The Plaza Güibia on the Malecón and the planting of the large boulevards with blossoming trees are a reminder of his tenure . In 1998 Peña Gómez ran again for mayor of Santo Domingos, but died six days before the election. The PRD won the election anyway , with Johnny Ventura running at the last minute . Peña Gomez's widow, Peggy Cabral, was elected Vice Mayor.

Leader of the PRD

In 1973 Peña Gómez became the sole and undisputed leader of the PRD after Juan Bosch had left the PRD after increasing differences with Peña Gómez and other party members and founded the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD). The PRD then won the presidential elections in 1978 (with Antonio Guzmán ) and 1982 (with Salvador Jorge Blanco ). In 1986 Peña Gómez was elected President of the PRD.

As Mayor of Santo Domingo, Peña Gómez was predestined to be nominated as a candidate for the PRD for the 1986 presidential election. However, the party preferred Jacobo Majluta Azar to him because weighty party members were of the opinion that a black person, especially of Haitian origin, had no chance of winning the election. The party's election rally in the “Dominican Concorde” hotel degenerated into a mix that left one dead and several injured and went down in history as “el concordazo”. So that the party should agree on the official candidate, the outgoing President Salvador Jorge Blanco promised a "Pacto la Unión" (merger of the party). But given the division of the party and the general dissatisfaction with the corruption of the Jorge Blancos government, the 80-year-old Joaquín Balaguer of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC), president 1960–1961 and 1966–1978, was elected one more time.

In 1990 Peña Gómez was finally nominated by his party as an official presidential candidate, but was only third behind Balaguer and Bosch from the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD).

In 1994 the PRD was more stable and Peña Gómez ran again for president. Even by Dominican standards, the campaign was dirty and overshadowed by violence. Peña Gómez lost against Balaguer extremely narrowly in an election accompanied by irregularities. Numerous supporters of Peña Gómez found that their names had been removed from the electoral register when they tried to vote. Peña Gómez called for a general strike, which his supporters largely followed. An investigation was conducted following international protests, the results of which raised serious concerns about the legality of the election. The state electoral commission did not know the number of registered voters, and the ballot papers that were distributed in the polling stations did not match those that had been delivered to the parties. The investigation also found that around 200,000 people had been removed from the electoral roll. After intensive negotiations, Balaguer announced that he would resign two years earlier than planned, in 1996, after a total of seven terms in office.

Peña Gómez ran again in the 1996 presidential election. He won the first ballot, but missed an absolute majority. In the second ballot, lawyer Leonel Fernández from the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) narrowly won the election thanks to the support of Balaguers PRSC.

Honors

• Orden Nacional de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella, Gran Cruz de Plata, Dominican Republic 1986
• Orden al Mérito, Gran Cruz Placa de Plata, Republic of Ecuador
• Orden de la libertad, Gran Cruz Placa de Plata, Republic of Portugal 1995
• Orden de Carlos Fonseca of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional , Nicaragua
• Order Vicente Emilio Sojo, Primera Clase, Asamblea Legislativa Estado de Miranda, Venezuela
• Honor al Mérito de la Gobernación del Distrito Federal, Venezuela
• Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Complutense Madrid , Spain 1995
• Gold medal from the Polytechnic University of Madrid , Spain 1995
• Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA), Santiago, Dominican Republic 1995
• Honorary doctorate from Universidad Evangélica Dominicana, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1996
• Académico Honorario of the Faculty of Law, Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain 1996
• Académico Honorario of the Real Academia de Jurisprudencia y Legislación, Madrid, Spain 1996
• Hijo Meritísimo y Maestro de la Política, by resolution of the National Congress of the Dominican Republic in 1966
• Honorary doctorate (posthumous) from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), May 10, 1999
• In 2003, during the reign of the PRD (2000-2004), the Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas in Santo Domingo was renamed Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas José Francisco Peña Gómez in his honor .

Reminiscences

José Francisco Peña Gómez was one of the most popular leaders in the Dominican Republic's recent political history, especially among the poorer classes. As news of his death became known, his supporters flocked to Santo Domingo from all over the country, where the Dominican government had to lay his body in the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium to give everyone the opportunity to pay their final respects.

For the Dominicans, Peña Gómez remained a synonym for democracy. With his power of persuasion and his oratorical talent, he filled the streets during the election campaigns. His greatest disadvantage, on the other hand, was his quick-tempered and passionate character, which led him to make mistakes that his rivals like Joaquín Balaguer took advantage of. For example, in one of his most famous speeches he exclaimed, Pooooorque si me tocan… la República Dominicana cogerá fuego por la 'cuatro' esquina 'compañero ( Because if you touch me, the Dominican Republic will catch fire in all four corners, my comrade ) , a saying that could easily be used against him.

Peña Gómez always suffered from racism and xenophobia, even within his party, because of his color and his (likely) Haitian origin. His origins were always an issue. Although his ancestry from a Haitian father has been established, Peña Gómez has never confirmed or denied it.

One of the many anecdotes about Peña Gómez, who always addressed the members of his party as compañero (comrade) , is that when he ran for the presidency in 1994, Fernando Álvarez Bogaert turned out to be no other than the son of the family who owned the farm, where he grew up.

Peña Gómez is also known as the inventor of the infamous political formula Dos mas Dos , which allowed a seat in the Senate to be split between two candidates who could occupy it during one term in office. The formula was created to appease dissatisfied members of the PRD who did not want to relinquish the victory to any other candidate in their constituency. Although a clearly anti-democratic measure, it is made possible by a loophole in the Dominican constitution that allows an elected candidate to “negotiate” his seat or to hand it over to another member of his party with all the privileges of office.

Agliberto Meléndez's Dominican film Del color de la noche , released in 2015, traces the life of Peña Gómez and his struggle for racial equality, and deals with the difficulties faced by black people in maintaining their rightful place in society. The title of the film comes from a saying from a speech by Peña Gómez: Porque soy del color de la noche ... (Because I have the color of the night ...) .

Works

• Fracaso de la democracia representativa a la luz del derecho constitucional (dissertation). Editora Manatí, Santo Domingo 2002, ISBN 978-99934-20-27-9 .
• Internacional, socialdemócrata e inmortal: selección de discursos, alocuciones y cartas a propósito de la Reunión Mundial de la Internacional Socialista. Editora Manatí, Santo Domingo 2001, ISBN 978-99934-20-23-1 .
• Mis ultimos discursos. Editora Manatí, Santo Domingo 2001, ISBN 978-99934-20-14-9 .
• Gestión municipal, 1982–1986. Editora de Colores, Santo Domingo 1997.
• Primero la gente: base programática del gobierno compartido. Editora de Colores, Santo Domingo 1996.
• with Fernando Alvarez Bogaert: Anatomía del fraude electoral: testimonio preliminar, presentado al pueblo dominicano en nombre de los partidos que componen el Acuerdo de Santo Domingo. Editorial Gente, Santo Domingo 1994.
• Despierta Panamá: Torrijos te llama. Fundación Omar Torrijos, Panama 1991.
• Participación en la democracia: agosto 16 de 1982 – agosto 15 de 1986. In: Sara Peralta de Rathe: Investigación, recopilación y edición. Editora Corripio, Santo Domingo 1986.
• Construcción de la democracia: agosto 16 de 1978 – agosto 15 de 1982. In: Sara Peralta de Rathe: Investigación, recopilación y edición. Editora Corripio, Santo Domingo 1986.
• Colección pensamiento político. In: Sara Peralta de Rathe: Investigación, recopilación y edición. Editora Corripio, Santo Domingo 1986.
• Problems of the institucionalización y preservación de la democracia en la República Dominicana. Forum, Santo Domingo 1982.
• 10 discursos. Secretaría General del Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, Santo Domingo 1979.

literature

• Dominican Embassy in Haiti (ed.): Peña Gómez en la sociedad haitiana . Editora Manatí, Santo Domingo 2002, ISBN 978-99934-20-20-0 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
• Leo Reyes: La Grandeza y la tragedia de un líder: crónica. Editorial Gente, Santo Domingo 2002, ISBN 978-99934-49-06-5 .
• Héctor Bienvenido Jerez: Luto en la democracia. Editora Corripio, Santo Domingo 2000.
• Luis Gilberto Uffre Báez, Rainier Manuel Castillo Peralta, Juan Aquino Ramírez: Vida y Pensamiento del Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez. Instituto de Ciencias Políticas y Administración del PRD “Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez “, Santo Domingo 2000.
• Diómedes Remigio: Peña Gómez, su pensamiento educativo. Fundametro, Santo Domingo 1999.
• Raimundo Tirado: Esencia del pensamiento ideológico del Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez: la tesis del gobierno compartido. Editora Universitaria de la UASD, “Portada de Fernando Rivas”, Santo Domingo 1999.
• Diómedes Remigio: Peña Gómez: biografía política. L. Antillas, Santo Domingo 1996.
• Julio G. Campillo Pérez: Peña Gómez: origen y nacimiento: investigación genealógica. Editora de Colores, Santo Domingo 1996.
• Diógenes Céspedes: Contra la ideología racista en Santo Domingo (dos campañas por Peña [Gómez]). Editora de Colores, Santo Domingo 1998, ISBN 978-84-89539-71-6 .
• Diómedes Remigio: Peña Gómez, su pensamiento político. Editora Victorama, Santiago 1994.
• Fernando Peña: Peña Gómez: perfil de un presidente. Editora Teófilo, Santo Domingo 1993.
• Leo Reyes: María de los jazmines: los verdaderos orígenes del Dr. Peña Gómez ; s. n., s. l. e. a., between 1982 and 1986.
• Narciso Isa Conde: Comunismo vs. socialdemocracia: las ideas de Peña Gómez y el ensayo socialdemócrata dominicano. Taller, Santo Domingo 1981.

Web links

• Fundación José Francisco Peña Gómez ( Memento from January 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
• Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez. 1937-1998. Biography. In: Website of the Pontifical Catholic University "Mater et Magistra" (PUCMM)
• Eligio Serrano García: José Francisco Peña Gómez el más grande estratega en la historia política Dominicana ( Memento of June 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) In: Primicias. June 9, 2009
• José Francisco Peña Gómez. In: Monografías.com
• Website of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano
• Deanna Cox: The legacy of Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez. In: Dominican Today. April 19, 2009.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Resumen de vida. Actividades políticas Nacionales ( Memento of March 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Website of the Fundación Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez.
2. ↑ La sentencia no afectaría a Peña Gómez. ( Memento of the original from May 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: El Caribe. September 27, 2013 (quote: A prueba en contrario, Peña Gómez era hijo de María Marcelino, dominicana, y Oguís Vicent, haitiano ilegal ). 
3. ^ ^{A b} Dominican Embassy in Haiti (Ed.): Peña Gómez en la sociedad haitiana . Editora Manatí, Santo Domingo 2002, ISBN 978-99934-20-20-0 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
4. ↑ Resumen de vida. Estudios realizados ( Memento of March 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Website of the Fundación Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez.
5. ↑ Resumen de vida. Sus hijos ( memento from March 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Website of the Fundación Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez.
6. ↑ Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez. 1937-1998. Biography. ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Website of the Pontifical Catholic University “Mater et Magistra” (PUCMM). 
7. ↑ Loyda Peña: polêmico retorno de Balaguer en 1986. In: Hoy. April 1, 2012.
8. ↑ Resumen de vida. Condecoraciones Y otras distinciones: ( Memento of March 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Website of the Fundación Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez.
9. ↑ Manuel Soto Lara: Explica Bosch, Balaguer, Majluta, Trujillo, Luperón y Duarte eran más extranjeros que Peña Gómez ( Memento from October 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Ciudad Oriental. October 13, 2013.
10. ↑ The director Agliberto Meléndez and the performer Peña Gómez, José Francisco Geraldino, set the film Del color de la noche ago on YouTube . In: acento tv.