OPINION | The symbolism of anti-corruption operations in the Dominican Republic

Editor’s note: Geovanny Vicente Romero is a lawyer and political scientist with experience as a professor and advisor on Public Policy and Governance. He is a political strategist and Government Communication consultant. He studied a master’s degree in Political Communication and Governance at George Washington University. He is the founder of the RD Center for Public Policies, Development and Leadership (CPDL-RD). The ideas expressed in this article belong to the author. Read more notes like this at cnne.com/opinion.

(CNN Spanish) – In politics, and more specifically in political communication, actions are expressed through a set of symbols that carry a meaning beyond what is literally said. We constantly expose ourselves to images loaded with meaning that make the path of the agenda setting of our governments easier and that become an essential part of the personal branding of the leaders who run those governments. It is not uncommon to see Vladimir Putin practicing “tough sports” such as judo and hockey, driving Formula 1 vehicles, hunting toples “a la Rambo” or releasing a Siberian tiger in its natural habitat. It is the symbol of hero that he wants to convey, not only to Russians, but also to his counterparts in the international arena. Likewise, it was normal to see Barack Obama take off his jacket and roll up his shirt as a symbol of a closer figure to citizens. The same thing happened in another Latin American political environment, where it was common to see the former president of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina jumping over puddles and quagmires to convey distancing from “the sophistication” of his predecessor, Leonel Fernández.

A “symbolic government” knows very well that much of its success depends on the construction of perception. Not only will it be enough to govern well, it will also be necessary to know how to report your achievements through your communication routines. As I have said in the past, it is necessary to understand the so-called “myth of government as the construction of the reality of the government, the north that it wants to follow, its legacy. In that sense, (the author Raoul) Girardet points out that it is a complete belief system ”.

Justice and the fight against corruption and organized crime not only have their codes, but also their symbols. In recent months, the Dominican Republic has unleashed a wave of raids and arrests of suspected corrupt individuals like never before. These operatives have each arrived with their name loaded with symbolism.

We all remember that great operation that ended the life of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, under the code name “Geronimo.” This name, placed by the parallels between the leader of al Qaeda and that of the Apaches, caused controversy, although the official name was “Operation Spear of Neptune.”

When Dominican President Luis Abinader appointed Miriam Germán Brito as attorney general, he said that he was fulfilling his first campaign promise by creating the conditions for an independent Public Ministry (MP). Abinader’s thesis would be that his MP would not operate on a tight leash. On the contrary: it would give him a rope so long as to keep him away from the palace, although the laws establish that this institution depends on the president.

From my point of view, with this action the president put himself in a position in which he will always have an advantage. On the one hand, he claims that, if his government is accused of political persecution, it is clear that Germán is the one who autonomously runs the store and, on the other hand, if Germán does his job well, then Abinader will continue to calmly establish his agenda with all the distraction that legal proceedings bring.

With this apparent level of independence, the MP, led by prosecutors Yeni Berenice Reynoso and Wilson Camacho, struck its first major blow with the “Anti-Pulpo Operation”, in which several former officials and other related persons were investigated, arrested and accused of corruption. with the government of the Dominican Liberation Party, highlighting the figures of Carmen Medina Sánchez and Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez, both brothers of former president Danilo Medina. It has been alleged that Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez took advantage of the tentacles that he was given by being the president’s brother to direct this supposed network. Medina Sánchez’s lawyer has said that evidence is needed for this accusation, while the defender of the former president’s sister affirms that she did not decide which providers were given State contracts.

It seems that Dominican prosecutors are fascinated with marine biodiversity. They say they give another blow to corruption, this time under the name “Operation Coral.” Danilo Medina’s head of security, Major General Adán Cáceres, falls into this operation and is accused of directing a money laundering scheme allegedly taken from the public payroll and also from real estate projects. The name “Coral” is due to the fact that this network apparently protected the “octopus” already mentioned in the previous operation. Cáceres has said that he is innocent of the charges.

Then came “Operation Medusa”, which ended with the arrest of former attorney Jean Alain Rodríguez, along with several of his collaborators, for allegedly defrauding the State. Rodríguez has said that due process has been violated in his case.

One of those arrested, Miguel José Moya, who had signed a contract for several communication strategy courses for the Attorney General’s Office, said that he was hired to design a “marketing and image show with the Odebrecht case.” With this confession, Moya answered the question that I had already asked myself in 2019: Dominican Republic, why isn’t the Odebrecht case progressing like in other countries?

Finally, I consider the performance of this new Public Ministry to be very positive. As in everything, only time will tell if the intentions are pure or if it is just a smoke screen from the Government to continue the old practice of political persecution. Meanwhile, Dominican democracy continues to be tested.