By Richard Gutiérrez
richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com
In a strategic move ahead of the 2024 elections, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González earlier this week unveiled the team that will be entrusted with shaping the party’s key public policy directives.
The team, led by attorneys Ayleen Figueroa and Ingrid Colberg, will feature Mayors Association President Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz as spokesperson and representative of elected officials. The initiative assembles a diverse group of specialists, PDP leadership, and concerned parties tasked with drafting a document, dubbed “Fuerza de Futuro,” that reimagines the PDP’s principles and priorities for the future.
“During my [party] presidential campaign, I promised PDP supporters that we would have an Institutional Government Plan that would serve as our guiding light and promote the principles our party has always championed,” Ortiz González said. “We must re-embrace the causes we believe in and have historically defended. The PDP was founded to champion social causes and find solutions to citizens’ problems. It’s time to get back on that path.”
As part of the endeavor, the PDP’s thematic secretariats responsible for issues such as economic development, education, healthcare, social welfare, human rights, public safety, the future job market, municipal reforms, climate change, environmental matters, animal rights and agriculture, among others, will be reactivated.
“The PDP is the big house for all,” Ortiz González said. “The main idea is that individuals passionate about different topics engage with our collective and offer their vision for Puerto Rico’s future. The group will be enriched with professionals and civil society members genuinely interested in contributing to the country.”
“With Luis Javier Hernández’s support, his genuine desire to serve and work on issues that impact people’s lives, we have the right person to channel the aspirations of elected officials in our collective,” the PDP president added. “The [Villalba] mayor will also help communicate efforts and organize discussions in the districts. The PDP will have a robust and relevant document for Puerto Rico.”
Drawing inspiration from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the guidelines approved by the PDP’s Regulatory Assembly, Ortiz González pointed out that the team’s objective is to develop a document that encompasses economic development, sustainability, social aspects, and environmental preservation.
“The core purpose is to establish fundamental directives within our diverse party that will guide the PDP beyond individual candidacies,” he said. “We will present the country with the public policy that embodies the PDP’s essential causes and values, the objectives we fight for as an institution for this and future generations. With input and participation from various sectors, this plan will serve as a roadmap for PDP candidates to present to the country, aligning these priorities and proposing their own strategies consistent with our core objectives as an institution.” Ortiz González said “Fuerza de Futuro” is slated to be presented to the PDP board of directors and assembly in the first quarter of 2024 for approval.
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