2000 Dominican Republic presidential election
[4] He defeated José Francisco Peña Gómez of the PRD in the runoff after incumbent President Joaquín Balaguer, told his supporters to back Fernández.[4] However Fernández's approval ratings were only 45% by 1999, with strong discontent among the poor who had not benefited from economic growth and had seen power cuts and price rises.[7] By this time, Balaguer was completely blind and unable to walk without assistance,[8] but still had many committed supporters which meant he could hold the balance between the other 2 main candidates.[4] Mejía campaigned by attacking inequality between rich and poor, pledging to increase social spending and to preserve a role for the state in the economy.[10] Fears that the election could be affected by violence were raised after an official of the PLD was killed after an incident involving the bodyguards of the PRD's Mejía.