| People's Force Fuerza del Pueblo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | FP |
| President | Leonel Fernández |
| Secretary-General | Antonio Florián |
| Founded | 17 October 2019 (2019-10-17) |
| Split from | Dominican Liberation Party |
| Preceded by | Dominican Workers' Party |
| Headquarters | Avenida Bolívar no. 101, esquina Doctor Báez, Gazcue, Distrito Nacional |
| Membership (2023) | 1,920,000 |
| Ideology | Progressivism Social democracy |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| International affiliation | Foro de São Paulo |
| Colors | Green and white |
| Chamber of Deputies | 27 / 190 |
| Senate | 3 / 32 |
| Website | |
| fuerzadelpueblo | |
The People's Force (Spanish: Fuerza del Pueblo, FP) is a political party in the Dominican Republic led by former President Leonel Fernández.
After fierce results and 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, a change approved by the Central Electoral Board on December 17 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, a situation that came to be glimpsed in the national congress but did not materialize given the political and social pressure that existed in that moment. The peak of this process would be reached when Leonel Fernández held a massive protest in front of the national congress, formalizing an important division within the Dominican Liberation Party.
After President Danilo Medina gave up on choosing a third term and modifying the constitution, he presented himself to the Minister of Public Works and a close collaborator of Danilo Medina as a pre-candidate for the presidency with the backing of the current president, this generated internal friction. Finally, Fernández was defeated with a narrow margin before Gonzalo Castillo, to which he called the electoral contest "fraud" followed by several protests, televised addresses and challenges to the Central Electoral Board without finally presenting evidence or formal complaint of the various theories and accusations he made.
Ultimately, this would lead Fernández to resign from the presidency of the Dominican Liberation Party and its militancy, where he had been for more than 46 years. Along with him, hundreds of militants and dozens of public officials, including deputies and senators, resigned, although he finally made a call to all the officials of his current who held elective positions and who had obtained a candidacy in the elections of October 2019 that they maintained their positions and did not resign from the party, so that they made opposition from within the same organization.
Merger and name change
Originally the political movement was called "The People's Force" as the slogan Leonel Fernández used to catalog his followers during the pre-electoral contest. Later, after the acquisition of the minority "Dominican Workers Party", this political organization submitted a request to the Central Electoral Board to change the name to "People's Force" using green colors and symbols alluding to vegetation or flowers. During a public hearing, the entity learned about these changes, receiving various rejections from political parties and individuals, both for the name and for the colors and symbols.
On December 17, 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 organisation, creating a scenario in which the two parties are vying for the title of second majority in the Senate.
Election results
Presidential elections
| Election | Candidate | First Round | Second Round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2020 | Leonel Fernández | 365,226 | 8.90% | — | — | Lost  N
|
| 2024 | 1,259,427 | 28,85% | — | — | Lost N
| |
References
- "¿Realidad o exageración? Padrones del PRM, PLD, FP y PRD superan en total los 7 millones de militantes". 21 August 2023.
- "PTD-'La Fuerza del Pueblo' fue un partido de izquierda". Listin Diario (in Spanish). 21 October 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- "PTD-'La Fuerza del Pueblo' fue un partido de izquierda". Listin Diario (in Spanish). 21 October 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- "Leonel Fernández y su partido son izquierdistas, afirma Méndez". Acento (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- "In the Dominican Republic, the President's Likely Reelection Bodes Well for the Economy, But Challenges Remain". Stratfor. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- "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.
- "Se encienden rumores de reforma constitucional antes de primarias de octubre". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 27 August 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "Grupos populares se suman a la protesta frente al Congreso Nacional". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 26 June 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "Lucha interna del PLD llega al Congreso por posible modificación de la Constitución". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- Diario, Listin (July 16, 2019). "Leonel llama a protesta pacífica frente al Congreso". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "Danilo anuncia que no irá por la reelección". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 22 July 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "Leonel Fernández presenta su formal renuncia del PLD". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). October 20, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "Renuncian 27 diputados del PLD y pasan a apoyar a Leonel Fernández". www.diariolibre.com (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- 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.
- "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.