Development: On 9 May César Pina Toribio, the Dominican Republic's minister of the presidency and a high ranking leader in the ruling Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD), accused the opposition Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) of having "no moral authority" to fight corruption.  

Significance: Pina's comments followed the official presentation of former president Hipólito Mejía (2000-2004) as the PRD presidential candidate for the 2012 presidential elections. It shows the extent to which the PLD leadership is concerned about Mejía prospective return to power. This could prove determinant in the PLD internal primaries, as Danilo Medina, who lost the 2000 elections to Mejía, is ahead in the polls. 

Key points:

• In his speech on 7 May Mejía declared that "the population [was] tired of the increasing levels of corruption in the country". He argued that successive PLD governments have squandered public money and abused their right to raise taxes, while irresponsibly increasing the public debt. He vowed to fight all official corruption. "They have earned millions, but the country has lost eight years", he said. Mejía presented Luis Abinader as his running mate.

• Pina responded that Mejía's administration was rife with drug trafficking scandals. He suggested that the mere mention of the case of a former army captain, Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, extradited to the US as a drug trafficker and thought to have direct links to Mejía's inner circle, would be enough to "shut him up". Pina warned that the PLD would "remind the country about the Mejía administraton".     

• Medina lost the PLD primaries to Fernández ahead of the 2004 elections. The party is currently divided between the Medina faction and Fernández supporters unsure who are unsure as to which of the other five presidential pre-candidates best represents continuity with Fernández's political project. The primaries take place on 26 June.