Santiago Matías defends verbal clash during political forum

Santiago Matías, businessman and political aspirant for the ‘Dominicanos Primero’ project, has addressed a recent verbal exchange with communicator and Fuerza del Pueblo leader Julieta Tejada at a Political Communication Congress. Matías characterized the incident as a ‘democratic exercise,’ noting that he requested an interactive session to allow for public questions.

Matías alleged that Tejada used the forum to deliver a partisan monologue rather than asking a specific question, stemming from his previous comments regarding Leonel Fernández and the founding of the Fuerza del Pueblo party. He suggested the tension arose because Tejada identified herself as a party leader during the exchange.

In response to Matías’s rising profile, political communicator Randy Estrella warned traditional politicians against engaging with Matías’s tactics. Estrella suggested that Matías utilizes controversy and scandal to gain visibility and recommended that political leaders ignore his provocations to avoid fueling his media presence.