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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – A former president whose single term ended with the deepesteconomic crisis in the modern history of the Dominican Republic isseeking redemption Sunday as he faces an old rival in what isexpected to be a close election to lead the Caribbean's top touristdestination. Former President Hipolito Mejia, a gaffe-prone populist, trouncedrival Danilo Medina when they last faced off in 2000. But Mejia'sfour-year presidential term ended in disaster, with a bankingcrisis that sunk the economy and caused so much misery and scarcitythat tens of thousands of people fled the country and voters casthim out of office. The pair face off again in Sunday's election and several polls showruling party-candidate Medina could win with slightly more than 50percent of the vote, thus avoiding a runoff. After eight years under President Leonel Fernandez of the DominicanLiberation Party, or PLD, the question is whether enough time hasgone by for crucial swing voters to give Mejia another chance, saidRosario Espinal, director of the Latin American Studies Center atTemple University in Philadelphia. "The country is not in a crisis like it was in 2003 and 2004. It'sa very different situation," said Espinal. "But there is a lot ofdisenchantment with the government, especially with the high costof living." Espinal, a leading political analyst of the country, said theelection will turn on the narrow slice of the electorate who arenot affiliated with either the PLD or Mejia's opposition DominicanRevolutionary Party. "The question is whether they are more tired of the currentgovernment or more fearful of what might happen under Mejia," shesaid. Fernandez is not running for a third consecutive term. Medina, 60,is a party stalwart who has promised to improve upon but not makeany major changes to the policies of the outgoing president, whohas embarked on a massive public works campaign that included asubway system modeled after the one in New York. Ramona Hernandez, director of the Dominican Studies Institute ofthe City University of New York, said it will be in part agenerational struggle between those who remember the crisis, whichwas set off by the failure of three banks and resulted in a nearly20 percent drop in GDP, and those who never lived through it. "People between 40 and 60 years old, they haven't forgotten. He hasa history," Hernandez said of Mejia. "But he has a chance withyounger people." In addition to president, Dominicans are electing a vice presidentfrom a field that includes the heavily favored First Lady,Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, and seven members of the Chamber ofDeputies who will represent people who have settled overseas. Tensof thousands are expected to cast ballots in places with largenumbers of Dominicans, including New York, New Jersey, Florida andPuerto Rico. Politics in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island ofHispaniola with Haiti, largely revolves around the PLD and Mejia'sDominican Revolutionary Party, or PRD. Both were founded as Marxistparties by Juan Bosch, president for a year in 1963 until he wasousted in a coup. The two have come to embrace free trade,generally pro-business policies and close ties to the U.S. The PLDis considered "center right," largely because it's in power, andthe PRD is said to be center-left but the differences largely turnon personality, loyalty and patronage. The presence of the first lady is something of a wild card. MarthaJimenez, a 29-year-old who sells lottery tickets, said she hasalways supported the PRD but this year she will support theDominican Liberation Party of Cedeno because the first lady helpedher sister, who was badly burned in an accident, get a skintransplant. "I don't know how to thank her. She has given us so much," Jimenezsaid. Both presidential candidates have proposed to increase spending oneducation and to do what they can to create jobs in a country of 10million people that is largely dependent on tourism and whereunemployment is officially about 14 percent, though the vastmajority of workers are in the poorly paid informal sector. Thetypical salary for those who do have regular jobs is around $260per month. The Dominican Republic has also become an important route for drugsmugglers seeking to reach the U.S. through nearby Puerto Rico andthere are widespread concerns about the influence of drugtrafficking. They have also traded accusations of incompetence andcorruption. Medina is a technocrat who has spent much of his life in politics. "I'm no fan of Danilo (Medina). He's kind of dull," said MiguelPichardo, a 27-year-old taxi driver. "But I'm going to vote for himbecause I don't want Hipolito to come back." Mejia, a 71-year-old who refers to himself as "Papa" and styleshimself as a man of the people, has also enlivened the campaignwith some of the verbal missteps for which he has long been famous.Most recently, he joked that house maids are prone to steal meatfrom the houses where they work so they can give it to theirboyfriends, not a wise comment in a country where more than halfthe population works in the informal section, many of them asmaids. Mejia "talks a lot of nonsense," said Maria Altagracia Ramirez, a26-year-old maid. "How could I vote for him? That man is crazy.". 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