Director's Reflections | Balaguer, in the crossfire - Vídeo Dailymotion

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Director's Reflections | Balaguer, in the crossfire

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00:00Listín Diario presents Sunday Reflections

00:03Director's Reflections for Sunday, July 13, 2025, Balaguer, in the Crossfire.

00:10He walked imperturbable through the arch of the Ambassador's Hall

00:13like a noble monk on his way to the Oratory.

00:16But less than ten steps away, a motley circle of fire awaited him,

00:20one that, on a weekly basis, would break his patience.

00:24This was the ritual of every Wednesday during the 1970s,

00:27during his second term, 1970 to 1974.

00:32The obstacle in the path that forced him to stop before his appointment

00:35with the National Development Commission at ten in the morning

00:38was a cloud of journalists eager to interview him.

00:42President Balaguer, sometimes smiling and sometimes with a funereal expression,

00:47made himself available to the reporters,

00:49who vying haphazardly for the first question.

00:52Regardless of his mood, journalists questioned him about the latest news,

00:56without hesitation, but without blatant disrespect.

01:00Several times they drove him mad, provoking unprecedented reactions,

01:05such as when he humiliated a radio mill reporter.

01:08Don't you have any brains? He snapped, annoyed.

01:11All because the journalist hadn't grasped a strong response on a sensitive topic

01:16and repeated it back to him.

01:18Balaguer must have thought his intention was to hammer the issue home.

01:21Raising his voice, he accused another of spreading falsehoods

01:25about the collapse of a building near the palace after an earthquake the night before.

01:29Despite the reporter's explanations,

01:31Balaguer insisted with his colleagues on branding him a propagator of fake news.

01:36He responded harshly to another veteran

01:38when the latter reported that mixed-gender troops

01:40had run over UASD students after a two-day siege.

01:44You can't ask me for explanations or blame the guard for these events

01:47because you were also a guard and you know how they act.

01:51You were a guard, remember? You were a guard.

01:53When Balaguer became enraged,

01:55whether for understandable reasons or due to histrionics calculated to intimidate,

02:00the weekly press conference would end there.

02:02The journalists knew they couldn't waste this voluntary concession

02:06from the president every Wednesday,

02:08and despite his outbursts,

02:09they never stopped subjecting him to the crossfire of uncomfortable questions.

02:14To a certain extent,

02:15the president benefited from this thermometer of public sentiment

02:18conveyed by the questions despite the periodic clashes.

02:22That explains, in my retrospect,

02:25why Balaguer didn't cancel those meetings on his way to the Development Commission.

02:30Remembering these stories moves me to highlight the strength of those reporters

02:34who, without mincing their words,

02:36challenged the president with direct, unvarnished questions.

02:40One of the most acerbic reporters,

02:42with whom Balaguer seemed uncomfortable,

02:44stopped coming to the palace for weeks.

02:47The president asked about her, missing her,

02:49her presence,

02:50and her colleagues explained that she was about to give birth.

02:54Balaguer, almost with a sigh of satisfaction,

02:56commented,

02:57Oh, how wonderful!

02:58I hope that God and motherhood will sensitize her and calm her temper.

03:02P.S. This Monday the 14th marks the 23rd anniversary of Dr. Balaguer's death.

03:09For Listine Diario,

03:10voiceover and translation by Danny Leon.

03:13Listine Diario presented Sunday Reflections.

Director's Reflections | Balaguer, in the crossfire

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