Dominicans Prepare to Vote in Dominican Republic Presidential Election

By Beth Wolfson

JAMAICA PLAIN-- When Betty and Johnny Gonzalez emigrated from the Dominican Republic more than 20 years ago, they left a country in economic distress hoping to find a new life with greater opportunities. But after moving to the United States, they continued to vote in their homeland.

“My parents were sending their money back home to relatives, and they still do,” says Denise Gonzalez, 21, the Gonzalez’s daughter. “I don’t know one Dominican that doesn’t send money home to relatives and friends, and many of them feel like if they are supporting the economy, they should have a say in it.”

Denise says the cost of living in the Dominican Republic has gotten so high that their relatives depend on them for money.

“Some people around here want a change because they see that their families would not be ok without their help and that is frightening for them,” she says.

This is the main reason why Dominicans continue voting in elections in their homeland.

“Ten thousand Dominicans living in Boston are registered to vote in the election,” says Hector Frias, executive director of the Quiseya Foundation, a non-profit organization that investigates Dominican immigrants abroad.

In Jamaica Plain, where an estimated 8,642 Latinos live, according to the 2000 U.S. census, Dominicans have posted signs for candidates and hold meetings to spread information.

Although the Gonzalezes no longer vote in the Dominican elections focusing instead on the upcoming U.S. election, many of their fellow Dominicans will go to the polls on May 16 to vote for a new president.

Dominicans will have to choose between current President Leonel Fernandez of the PLD, and Miguel Vargas of the PRD.

“Dominicans in Boston are very involved in the election,” Frias says. “They stay connected to their country and they have strong feelings about the government.”

Many of the Dominicans in Boston support the PRD, which is the more liberal party.

“The PRD is a revolutionary party similar to the Democratic Party in the U.S.,” says Luis Valerio, leader of the PRD. “We are concerned about the economy, education and health care.”

Valerio says that the Dominican government has only spent 1.8 percent of the budget on education. Four percent of the budget is supposed to be spent on education, according to General Law in the Dominican Republic.

Regardless of Dominicans’ frustrations with the current president, he leads in the polls. In a recent poll of 1,000 Dominican voters nationwide in the Dominican Republic, 58 percent said they would vote for Fernandez if the elections were held the day of the poll while only 32 percent of voters would choose Vargas, according to the Asisa Research Group, which conducted the poll.

Valerio says Fernandez is using tax money to promote himself in a lavish campaign.

“Our candidate had a public assembly in Boston at English High School while Fernandez hosted a concert in Boston with many popular music groups from the Dominican,” Valerio says. “This is a huge sign of corruption, and that is why I believe we will win in the end.”

The Gonzalez family hopes Vargas wins, even if they aren’t planning to vote.

“Many of our friends in this area will vote,” Gonzalez says. “We hope for a change.”