PRD convention rocked by old guard letter

ON A DAY that should have been reflecting unity, the PRD National Convention was shaken with a hint from the old guard, that the Navarro campaign might want the CD to win the election.

Two of the founders of the party, Francisco Sanchez Cardenas and Mitchell Doens on Sunday, January 26, sent an "open letter" addressed to members and citizens in general, and lashed out at the party's presidential candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro, reports La Prensa. It was published on the same day as the national convention.

In the letter, they explained that they offered to attend the event to send a message of unity by attending.
However, the politicians said that this request was denied by Navarro, saying he wanted them to stand on the stage like "statues of salt."
Sanchez Cardenas and Doens also revealed that, with the aim of strengthening the PRD, they wanted former president Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994-1999) to be Navarro's running mate, but that idea was rejected by the candidate, who ultimately chose Gerardo Solís.
The founders also recalled that, since they assumed the roles of president and general secretary of the party, they prepared the group to prevent the re-election of the CD.
"The intention of [Martinelli] placing his wife as vice president and his recent proposal to modify the Constitution to reduce the ban on presidential re-election from 10 to 5 years, proved convincingly that we were not mistaken," said the letter.
At the end of the document, the so-called "dinosaurs of the PRD" wondered if there are "real wishes" from the Navarro campaign for the CD to win the election reported La Prensa.