From 2:00 pm yesterday, relatives, friends, political personalities and figures from different sectors of society come to say goodbye to the Minister of the Environment, Orlando Jorge Mera, until yesterday.
Among the politicians who have passed through the Blandino funeral home on Abraham Lincoln Avenue, are former President Hipólito Mejía, who said on his way out that the deceased, unlike him, did not break out easily.
“He was a great conciliator,” said the former president.
Leonel: “Affable person”
In the evening hours, former President Leonel Fernández arrived, expressing that the country had lost an “affable, cordial, always gentlemanly person and one of his best sons.
He added that by his death, the Dominican Republic is saddened.
Among those present was the Minister of Defense, Major General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, who described the event as a disgrace and tragedy for the country.
“A pity, a disgrace for the country and we only come to give strength to the relatives to be able to overcome this,” said Díaz Morfa regarding his “great friend Orlando,” as he defined it.
“When there is a very close, personal relationship, as was the case with them, family, it is not so easy,” he said regarding whether he saw it as correct that he let Jorge Mera’s executioner pass the ministry with a firearm.
Although he did not want to venture to think that Jorge Mera’s death was premeditated, the lawyer Cándido Simón stated upon his arrival at the funeral home that the videos prior to the event suggest that it was planned in advance.
“I have as a rule: not to venture to think that he did it with meditation, stalking and treachery, the truth is that (…) giving him 7 shots, in all vital areas, indicates that he had a very critical intention and also the evidence that has circulated of the previous moments he left his house convinced that he was not going to return, “he said.
The vice president of the Institutionality and Justice Foundation (Finjus), Servio Tulio Castaños Guzmán, said that another pandemic has been installed in society: “Violence.”
“I believe that all sectors are going to have to unite to find a solution to all this,” said Castaños Guzmán.
He affirmed that he does not remember in his life having felt a country more dismayed as it is today by the death of the official.
“All Dominicans who have spoken regarding this have expressed pain and the reality is that I believe that this cannot be in vain. All this has to be for something. And hopefully the political class sits down and we try to find a solution to a problem that is not only social”, he said.
The general secretary of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Charlie Mariotti, said that the purple party loses “a great mediator.”
Likewise, the former president of the Chamber of Deputies, Radhamés Camacho, lamented the death of the Minister of the Environment, cataloging the event as a “catastrophe” and very painful.
“A politician leaves, one of us leaves. He is not from my party, but he was a politician from A to Z. It is an embarrassing fact that even deeply hits the political class because of the way”, he expressed.
Camacho stated that it is a fact that has no explanation and “the nation needs to be informed of the reasons, because what Orlando Jorge Mera did might have been so great that his trusted friend would take his life.”
Earlier, the attorney general of the Republic, Miriam Germán Brito, passed by, who with considerable annoyance requested that the duel be respected.
On his side, the president of Alianza País, Guillermo Moreno, defined the deceased official as a “great man.”
The vice minister of foreign affairs, Carlos de la Mota, also passed through the funeral home; the Minister of Labor, Miguel de Camps and the director of the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (Caasd), Felipe Suberví.
Likewise, Gustavo Sánchez and Karen Ricardo, representing the PLD, have made an appearance.
Similarly, Melba de Grullón; the former ambassador of the United States, Robin Bernstein; Deputy Omar Fernández, among other personalities.
Wake
The remains of Jorge Mera have been on display since 2:00 pm yesterday at the Blandino funeral home.
The entrance of the funeral home is with dozens of relatives and officials.
Before that, a body mass was held in the Chapel of the National Palace, which was attended by family members and high-ranking officials.
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“Being an official carries danger”
Abinader word.
During the mass for the death of Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera, President Luis Abinader affirmed yesterday that being an official is a commitment that “carries many dangers.”
“This tragedy tells us and defines us that being a public official is not a prize, but a great commitment that leads us to many challenges and many dangers, and only the passion to serve with justice, transparency, breaking old patterns, is what It leads us to resist and to continue administering as the people require and as circumstances force us to,” Abinader said.
The president also referred to the sadness he feels for the murder of his party colleague, mainly due to the circumstances in which he died.