The invitation of the president of the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), Pablo José Hernández Rivera, for people outside the party to join its ranks, together with the anticipated creation of a sub-secretariat for that purpose, are initiatives whose effectiveness is uncertain and that do not address the fundamental changes required by that political organization.

This is the opinion of some members and ex-members consulted by El Nuevo Día, who have reservations about the strategy promoted by Hernández Rivera, which gained momentum last week with the affiliation of the former electoral commissioner of the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), Olvin Valentín.

In addition, they validated the expressions of the resident commissioner in Washington, who acknowledged that attracting new militants to the PPD could generate “resistance” in the PPD base.

“People who come to the party, come to be part of the militancy, should not receive any kind of rejection,” said former independent representative Luis Raúl Torres, who disaffiliated from the PPD in 2022.

When he announced Valentín’s arrival to the party, Hernández Rivera mentioned the possibility of creating a sub-secretariat, which he would leave in the hands of the former MVC member, to “identify people who are dissatisfied” with that party “and who see in the PPD an alternative.

But, according to Torres, this exercise will be an uphill battle, since the MVC has been a staunch critic of the PPD.

"The problem is going to be the clashes that there could be among the new people who enter, who have been leaders in another party or in another political movement, and who come directly to try to occupy leadership and elective positions because, definitely, that is going to have frictions with the current leaders or with the aspirants within the Popular Party. It is a reality, and he (Hernandez Rivera) was frank in saying so," said the former legislator.

Torres also stressed that the decline in PPD supporters or people who support it at the polls is not only due to disaffiliation, but that, in past elections, there have been PPD members who crossed political lines.

“If the re-foundation is open to people of all ideologies, of all sectors, and to voters who are not affiliated to any party, well, that’s good, let them continue with this process, but the reality is that there were thousands of popular people who went out to vote outside the Popular Party lines, and that is demonstrated in the past election results,” said Torres, who said that as recently as last week the leadership of the party approached him to return, but for now he will remain as a “collaborator” outside the party.

For former senator Eudaldo Baez Galib, those who come to the PPD must adapt their discourse to integrate themselves into the collectivity, while the affiliates must welcome the newcomers, which he defined as the “two waves”.

“There is always a need for a transitional element, which may be an idea or may be some people. I don’t know whether or not there are people in the Popular Party at the moment.... But, if there are not, I would suggest looking for them. And, when I say to look for transitional people, I do not refer to age. I am referring to attitude, that is, people who can speak to both waves“, he said.

The PPD was founded in 1938, and is the oldest party on the island. Under Luis Muñoz Marín, who created it, and later under Rafael Hernández Colón, Hernández Rivera’s grandfather, it maintained solid support from the electorate, most of whom cast a full vote.

According to official data from the State Elections Commission (SEC), the PPD is the party that has lost the most militants from 2012 until the past 2024 elections, a drop that represents 27.54%.

“For the space of 44 years, one could say, without fear of being wrong, that the two main parties, each one, had 45% of the electorate. That has been permanently changed since 2016″, said Manuel Álvarez Rivera, advisor to the SEC, as well as owner and administrator of the website eleccionespuertorico.org, which documents local and international electoral events.

“The crisis of the PPD coincides with the crisis of the Commonwealth,” he said.

According to Álvarez Rivera, the PPD must bet on capturing the candidacy and mixed vote, which has skyrocketed from 28% to 42% between 2020 and 2024.

Given this electoral scenario and the fact that the PPD has lost the governorship since the 2016 elections, Hernández Rivera announced the “refoundation” he is promoting in the party.

University professor, historian and former PPD militant Néstor Duprey said that, without wishing to detract from Valentín’s merits, for the PDP’s call to be effective, “the entry or re-entry of figures of greater political and electoral weight” would have to take place. “And we will have to see it, there is time,” he said.

“And that of course, the Popular Party, beyond the names, finishes putting real content to that label of ‘refoundation’, that its president has outlined and that, at times, it seems that the only one who believes in that ‘refoundation’ is him and the small group that accompanies him in the leadership of the party“, sentenced Duprey, who, in passing, made it clear that he would not return to the ranks of the party.

“I left the Popular Party for reasons that continue to this day: the lack of definition on the issue of political status, the failure to recognize the colonial character of the Commonwealth, the failure to emphasize the signs of identity of the Popular Party vis a vis the NPP (New Progressive Party), not offering the country a truly progressive project for the country, as was the original project of the Popular Party, and sharing a socioeconomic vision with the NPP that has nothing to do with the origins of the Popular Party," he said.

Duprey also said that “there is a paradox” in the PPD president’s speech.

“He (Hernández Rivera) is young. He speaks of ‘refoundation’, which I imagine must not go down very well with some of the veteran leadership of the Popular Party. But, on the other hand, his defense of the traditional ELA, his own style, more retro for some people, creates a distance with people of his own generation. It seems to me that this is the paradox he has to overcome in the face of 2028. It does not appeal to young people," he said.

Hernandez Rivera was not available for interview. But PPD secretary general Manuel Calderón Cerame, defended the creation of the sub-secretariat, of which, he anticipated, they would offer more details this week.

“It (the undersecretariat) is necessary because, during the past months, we have been having informal meetings with many people from other political denominations who have felt a call and have been interested in the changes that are being implemented in the Popular Party through its refoundation, which is led by Pablo José Hernández Rivera," he said.

Regarding the resistance there may be within the PPD to receive people outside the party lines, Calderón Cerame affirmed: “In politics, you win by adding up”.

“Any person who comes to the PPD, who joins the PPD and who wants to run for candidacy under the PPD, must submit to the same legal and regulatory requirements as any other person who is already a member of the PPD,” he added.

He pointed out that, through the sub-secretariat, and under Valentín’s command, any person interested in affiliating and “contributing” to the PPD will be attended. “This sub-secretariat will answer to the secretariat of the PPD”, he pointed out.

Sources of this media said that, within the PPD, the so-called refoundation promoted by Hernandez Rivera has caused some discomfort in some because there are popular or long-time militants who do not identify with the new strategy.

“Everything indicates that, in the new refoundation, Pablo José is leading a generational change in the Popular Party, but he is doing so by excluding, in the short-term process, valuable people who are from other generations, older and who have a lot to contribute to the party and who can help,” said former representative Torres.

“And that you cannot forget that the majority of the electorate of the Popular Party is an electorate of older people, for the most part. That is the reality. And, with that, my recommendation to him would be to always seek to make a balance and equilibrium“, he added.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.