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Estación elevada de monorriel en una ciudad caribeña
Infraestructura de transporte elevada en Santiago. · Imagen generada para EPM

Leonel Fernández questions nine monorail opening announcements in Santiago

According to Fernández, the government has announced the Santiago monorail inauguration on nine occasions without it entering operation, while announcing its…

--- The context --- According to remarks by Leonel Fernández, former president of the Republic and president of Fuerza del Pueblo, the opening of his party's new office in Santiago became the setting for broad questioning of the government's record. Fernández said the authorities have announced the inauguration date of the Santiago monorail on nine occasions, without it having entered into operation. --- The facts --- Fernández questioned, according to his remarks, why the government now announces the opening for December, while the 2027 budget allocates RD$6,700 million to that same project. He held that the delays are the responsibility of the authorities, regardless of the construction company's prestige, and contrasted the case with the Santo Domingo Metro of his administration, whose date, he said, he announced before the National Assembly and fulfilled without repeating the announcement. On electricity, Fernández said the subsidy rose from approximately 500 million dollars in 2020 to 2,000 million dollars at present, even though blackouts continue. On health, he cited complaints by doctors at the José María Cabral y Báez Regional University Hospital about a lack of beds and surgeons, and he questioned education, poverty and hunger, social programs and the increase in the vehicle circulation sticker. --- The positions --- Fernández said he hopes Santiago will have an efficient and safe monorail that improves mobility. He also proposed extending the route to the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, to facilitate, he explained, transport for students from low-income families. In response to the health situation described, Fernández announced that a future administration of his would promote a Health City in Santiago. The office opened is a two-story building, as part of a three-day agenda that included meetings with APROCOVICI and with construction, tobacco, transport, business, youth and health sectors. --- What remains unknown --- Based on what was stated, there is no detailed official response to each point, nor a public explanation of each previous announcement. No updated technical schedule was provided either, nor data allowing verification of the electricity subsidy figures or of the hospital situation cited by Fernández. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the opening announced for December, as noted by Fernández, actually take place? Why does the 2027 budget allocate RD$6,700 million to a project whose opening is announced for this year? Will extending the route to the university be evaluated? What response will the authorities give to the regional hospital complaints? --- EPM analysis --- The remarks attributed to Fernández combine an emblematic Santiago project with electricity, health and education. By linking the monorail with the budget and social programs, he moves the debate from a date toward the state's response capacity in the face of needs that affect low-income families first. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the most relevant part of what Fernández stated is not only the new date announced for December, but the chain of nine previous announcements that, according to him, were not fulfilled, because that sequence turns a transport project into a test of public credibility. The proposal to reach the university and the announcement of a Health City also show a dispute over Santiago's agenda, where mobility, health and education will require clear deadlines and measurable results for the population.
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