By The Star Staff
Saying that he cannot remain indifferent to the problems that afflict the island and that the common well-being depends on everyone, Víctor Luis Medina Cruz, a physician, has submitted his candidacy to become governor of Puerto Rico as an independent candidate.
“I know that the road is arduous, but as a Puerto Rican concerned about the events in our society, I have to do it,” he said late Tuesday.
Born in Santurce and raised in Río Piedras, Medina Cruz earned a medical degree in 1985 and a master’s in health services administration in 2005. He earned a doctorate degree in philosophy (ecclesiastical psychotherapy) in 2015. He retired after 30 years of public service at the Puerto Rico Medical Center in San Juan, where he acquired solid knowledge in administrative, medical and governmental management areas.
“At the moment I work in the private sector, but with the same concern of the last 30 years, how we can return to the path in which the important thing was the interest of the Puerto Rican people and not partisan political interest,” Medina Cruz said.
His political platform focuses on decentralization and attention to four fundamental axes: Education, health, public safety and economic development.
“I firmly believe in five guiding principles: Citizen participation through municipalities; non-profit organizations; faith-based organizations and community organizations; transparency – govern without partisan political interest; accountability – inform the people at all times with the absolute truth, no matter if it is negative; efficiency – you have to work hard with excessive centralization and bureaucracy; and social equity – the only way to reduce the gap is through effective education,” he said.
“Decentralization as a spearhead has been studied since the 1970s,” Medina Cruz added. “No party has given way to it because this reduces its power. My interest in participating in political activity is to be able to discuss corrective actions to the problems that affect us. Enough of promises in the air.”