Background
José Francisco Peña Gómez was born in Dominican Republic on 6 March 1937.
José Francisco Peña Gómez was born in Dominican Republic on 6 March 1937.
At the time of the death of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in 1961, Pena Gômez was a student in the University of Santo Domingo, where he ultimately graduated as a lawyer.
Between September 1970 and February 1973. Peña Gómez pursued advanced law studies in Paris, although keeping the title of PRD secretary general.
He was an early recruit to the PRD and was one of a group of young members sent for training in Venezuela and Peru.
In 1966 Peña Gómez was elected secretary general of the PRD. With Juan Bosch living abroad, he was largely in charge of running the party. Although he formally accepted Bosch’s rather ill-defined notion of a “dictatorship with popular support,'' by 1970 there were clearly differences between the two.
Upon his return from France, a conflict soon developed between him and Bosch and in August 1973, he resiged as secretary general. However, when Bosch was defeated in an attempt to purge Peña Gómez’ supporters, and in November 1973 resigned from the party. Peña Gómez was then reelected secretary general and became generally recognized as the PRD's principal figure.
Peña Gómez cultivated relations with other parties of the democratic left in Latin America and in Europe and among liberals in the United States. In 1976 he led the party into the Socialist International, of which he soon became vice president.
These international contacts were largely responsible for forcing the army to back down when it attempted to block the election in 1978 of PRD candidate Antonio Guzman as president. In that same election. Peña Gómez was chosen mayor of Santo Domingo. Peña Gómez also led the PRD to its third electoral victory in 1982, when Salvador Jorge Blanco was its presidential nominee