The future begins today!
The times of uncertainty and dithering ended last night; an era of hope dawns this morning!
Now, as President of the Republic, I wish to invite you to accompany me so that integrity and hope may reenter the Palace of the Herons; to begin to make up for lost time, and for a new stage of our republic's life to begin!
If anyone asked me how I feel just now, the answer would be that I feel the enormous weight of the responsibility entrusted to me by the majority will of the people on May 2.
It is to the Panamanian people who exercised democracy in absolute freedom to whom this presidential sash of office actually belongs!
In all modesty, I pray God to grant me the strength to discharge the office into which I was just sworn.
Nothing and nobody will make forget my roots. And I also pray will all my heart, for forgiveness of deeds and thoughts through which I might err.
I have the privilege of being the first president elected following recovery of our complete territorial sovereignty.
And that privilege I wish to share with a man that has never left our thoughts, a man who is a quintessential part of our homeland, a man who had taught us that independence and sovereignty were achievable with dignity and valor. I ask you to allow me to call him by name: Omar Torrijos Herrera!
Ladies and gentlemen:
I know the task we initiate today won't be easy. This is a country that expects so very much from the new government. Yet I also know that from today things will begin to change.
Let us speak clearly:
We inherit a country full of young people without jobs and without hope;
We inherit a country where nearly half the population lives mired in poverty, hoping for an opportunity to lift itself out of it;
We inherit an insecure country, with a deficient penitentiary system;
We inherit a country where the corrupt are held up for admiration as distinguished citizens, receiving honor and praise, and yet nothing happens, because corruption is a part of reality that many perceive as inevitable;
We inherit a country whose institutions have been destroyed by disrepute and by the repeated meddling by some state entities into the affairs of others;
We inherit a country where many children go hungry, whose women suffer violence and discrimination, where the handicapped don't have equal opportunities and where too many elderly live in rejection and despair;
We inherit a country that applies a "hard hand" against the poor, but a soft and compassionate touch for white collar criminals, drug dealers and international terrorists;
We also inherit a country with deep economic and financial difficulties.
We have endured five years of bungled opportunities.
To mention just two examples: the six hundred million dollars from the Fiduciary Fund have not been used to reduce poverty, nor to improve the quality of life for Panamanians. The same may be said of the over one thousand four hundred million dollars received by the administration since the canal's reversion, with the added difficulty that most people remain unaware of all its benefits.
Public finances are a messy inheritance, the main legacy of those who have preceded us in office.
We must take responsible measures to clear up the deplorable state of public accounts, the magnitude of which is still unquantifiable. But make no mistake about it: we will identify and bring to justice those that have abused the public treasury.
Public investment has been marked by wasteful expenditures, such as incomplete bridges, highways that were bid but not built, museums without contents, public works that merely encourage corruption and feed certain egos.
And the worst thing is that all those projects must nonetheless be paid, either with today's taxes or with tomorrow's debt.
The administration commencing today will invest taxpayer funds only in such projects that, in addition to jump-starting domestic expenditure, will eventually improve the quality of life for future Panamanians.
In order to retake the path towards economic growth we must aim for a balanced budget, via a national consensus regarding the public purse.
But to do so we must begin by telling the truth about our fiscal condition, without any creative accounting, deceit or improvisation.
We will soon have exact numbers on unpaid debts, unfinished public works, of the undertakings the former administration has signed on behalf of all Panamanians, without having the wherewithal to honor them.
Our indebtedness; the terrible fiscal imbalance we'll live with over the next four months; and all what is yet unknown, places us in a condition of very low liquidity. This means we will not be able to fulfill all the people's expectations immediately.
What we shall do immediately is implement such financial policies as will allow clearing the table over the first six months, in order to obtain resources and regain the power to discharge our undertakings.
In this regard, the fiscal responsibility law must be amended to mirror the country's reality. Within the next 60 days I shall submit a comprehensive program of reasonable fiscal adjustments, with a view to cause the least possible economic trauma.
Government subsidies shall be directed toward society's least favoured groups, but should not be misunderstood as a framework of permanent paternalism.
However, our economic endeavor shall not be limited to public finance.
Our economy is operated on a daily basis by citizens who work to increase our national prosperity. It is operated by local and foreign companies who compete to be more efficient and more productive. It is operated by a civil society which largely obeys laws and pays taxes.
The administration should facilitate private initiative and eliminate obstacles which prevent to new companies from entering the markets for the purpose of breaking up monopolies. But, at the same time, it is under obligation to guarantee basic social services and to protect society's more vulnerable groups.
Panama is a country operating within the framework of international trade and globalization. This is a fact of life to which we must face up with pragmatism and seize the opportunities it offers and will continue to offer for new job creation.
Facing globalization successfully requires care, but not fear. But yes: it is necessary to grasp its rules more fully, in order to better defend our interests.
The biggest push against poverty will follow from our priority for new job creation.
Yet we are educating youth in a system that no longer responds to current requirements, because it remains stuck in the past.
In order for Panamanians to develop their full potential, have opportunities for progress and be able to compete for the new jobs that will be created, a training process to correct the deficiencies in our educational system carries an urgent priority.
One may only generate more employment with a frontal attack on corruption and by fostering a climate of respect for the rule of law, with norms to be applied generally and without exceptions.
Panama has significant advantages to become ever more competitive and more wealthy. Yet doing business in Panama has turned into a headache for investors --- and this has to end!
In this vein, I wish to reiterate that I believe in international trade as a means towards the creation of wealth: no small country will prosper by closing itself off from trade in this ever more interdependent world.
To this end we will in an orderly manner carry out negotiations of free trade treaties with all countries, and especially with the United States of America, but with greater consultation with the agricultural sector in order to preserve our national interest.
Dear guests here with us today:
Rank-and-file Panamanians were astonished last week when the government of Panama decided to grant presidential pardons to four people of Cuban origin, condemned by the courts, and whose sentences were under appeal.
Such unfortunate reprieves ended criminal proceedings and blanketed those charged with an impunity most repugnant to the very notion of justice, and to all consciences that reject the threats of terrorism.
I would never have used that presidential prerogative to avoid the judicial branch's definitive finding in such a landmark case.
To my view, there aren't two types of terrorism: one that is condemned and another that is forgivable. Terrorism must always be fought, no matter what its source.
There are no excuses, no way of justifying this deed with statements offensive to other countries.
Panama's standing in the international community has been tarnished, and we fully intend to restore it, which is why I will take the necessary steps toward the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba and the normalization of our relations with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Similarly, in my opinion there can not be a foreign policy divorced from what we do internally. Ours is a single vision and all our efforts should focus on achieving the overall national goals.
Henceforth Panama joins efforts for a true and effective integration of our entire continent. Her history and geographical location allows her to further this project that unites us all.
Dear friends:
There isn't the slightest doubt Panama has fulfilled its obligation to manage the canal efficiently and securely. Any fears about our ability to administer the inter-oceanic waterway have thus been dissipated. Now, under full Panamanian administration, we must convert the canal into an engine for national development.
With that same sense of responsibility we have shown up to now, we will examine the possibility of the waterway's expansion, and will make it known to the citizenry.
It is clearly understood that a decision of this magnitude can only taken by the Panamanian people, and I pledge my word to guarantee the broadest possible discussion in a transparent national referendum.
If the canal is basic to our economy, the fate of Social Security is also crucial for the country's future. Our administration will achieve its fair but definitive resolution.
Its pension fund has been in deficit for many years, but its financial situation has recently deteriorated to a point where there is no way out for the Social Security Fund without radical reform, reforms which the outgoing administration chose to avoid, causing its deficit to grow at the rate of $400 million annually.
An unsustainable pension fund affects the poorest most; it reduces incentives for the richest to contribute; national savings shrink; the cost of generating formal employment is increased and, worst of all, uncertainty about the future is fostered in those who have worked hard for many years to be able to retire confidently.
With resolve and close coordination we will save an institution so intimately linked to the well-being of workers and their families.
Previous inaction had mired the Social Security Fund into a deepening crisis; my administration's commitment is to keep it viable for benefit of all Panamanians, without privatizing it.
Ladies and gentlemen:
The country cannot continue as prey to delinquency and insecurity. It is unacceptable that many people arrive home, stopping to look over their shoulders to ensure they will not be followed inside by muggers.
If we are not serious about this, the hoodlums will eventually win the day. But this struggle for civic security must be broadly based, and not simply cosmetic. And just as criminals must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, it is also necessary to implement more and better educational, cultural and sport facilities, in order to cure the causes of crime.
If we merely apply measures of police repression and leave it at that, we will impact a large portion of the problem, but would overlook its true origin, which is the misery to which the poorest families are subjected.
So we will fight crime, but we must also go on to combat poverty itself. We will mete out punishment, but we will also free those who have completed their jail sentences.
Dear friends:
Panama will only be able to grow and develop with an honest administration that preaches by setting examples.
We must prevent evil, but we must also relentlessly punish any act of corruption, regardless neither of where they originate nor who actually undertakes them. Only thus will society regain confidence in their government, and only thus will we build a new and decent fatherland.
We now declare war on corruption and on impunity, and call on society to join us in a crusade that implies a clash with the powerful forces and interest groups that have heretofore been untouchable.
We will take on this hard task, we will face the enemy, and we will lift up our voices to proclaim to the entire world our resolve and decision not to tolerate corruption.
The government will invest its every effort, yet this battle will be in vain without the support of all moral and patriotic forces in the country. We will only prove victorious it if we achieve this broad national consensus of all political parties and of society as a whole.
As a first step, at the very first cabinet meeting scheduled for this afternoon, the regulations implementing the Transparency Law will be repealed, and, starting tomorrow, all government programs and institutions will be audited.
From this moment, the confidentiality of the secret expense accounts is abolished. Neither the President of the Republic nor any other public official is entitled to use government funds without rendering periodic, public and detailed accountings. The people are now going to know how this administration spends their monies.
And to finally end this topic, I reiterate: neither the president, nor the vice-presidents, nor any minister, nor any agency director shall be allowed to receive the gifts to which some have become used to, nor invitations on trips without an official mission.
This is to avoid any consideration, disguised bribes or special payments being effected in public offices in exchange for favors.
This area will be regulated accordingly, and applied rigorously.
What we have lived through has been so brazen that our people now thirst for justice. Let's be clear on this: they don't want vengeance. They don't look to cash in chips. They look for, seek, and demand justice!
Although this is principally the purview of the courts, we will not remain silent about any misdeed --- we will not be accomplices to anyone.
My friends:
Regarding constitutional reform, I wish to point out the following: we will introduce a set of changes to the Constitution in the incoming Legislative Assembly, so they may review the work carried out by the outgoing assembly.
The scope of these proposed reforms, though not perfect, will contribute significantly to the modernization of the state.
Therein the area of application of human rights is enlarged. The issue of abuse of legal immunity is resolved. The independence of the Electoral Tribunal is strengthened. Independent candidacies for legislators are introduced. A prohibition enjoins Supreme Court justices from originating from the assembly or from the cabinet. From this five-year term, the transitional period is reduced to two months. The calling of a referendum on canal expansion is guaranteed, and a constituent assembly is adopted as a new mechanism of constitutional reform.
In essence, what is intended is to add more room for citizen participation; this is a significant step in the consolidation of Panamanian democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am aware of the sacred commitment I enter into with the Panamanian people from this very moment.
A president should always handle himself truthfully, but truth is not only about avoiding lies, but, above all, not to deceive anyone by hiding reality. We have to explain things as they actually are, and, should we make a mistake, admit to the error and correct it.
Neither do I wish to be lied to, nor for anyone to think that I am susceptible to flattery.
I am fully aware that I have been entrusted with national leadership because the people believed in our platform, and that they need someone who won't let them down anymore.
A president can see a way to govern without impositions and without paying heed to anybody. One can burst with senseless whims, treat people's concerns with disdain, and take decisions without explaining them.
Power bears with it the seeds of arrogance and temptations of vanity.
That is why I want everyone in my administration never to forget, for a single moment, that the salaries of all officials, from the president downwards, are paid from the dues of all taxpayers.
Rest assured that I will respect and will listen to the views of the opposition. The political expression of the opposition will also have its space in our democracy. Media will retain their freedoms, and the constitutional guarantees will never be infringed.
The campaign is behind us. My obligation now is to work hard and to discharge my duties with integrity and honesty.
Today a decent and austere administration begins. I will keep faith with Panama. I will keep my word, and between us all we shall lift up our country together.
Panamanian men and women:
On assuming the highest honor and the most serious of public responsibility, allow me a few words of personal gratitude.
To the thousands who welcomed our platform with enthusiasm, as well as to those who actively supported it: my deepest appreciation for your selflessness and generosity.
God willing, the time has arrived for me to give them all the friendly embrace that I now extend from here today!
To those that favored the other candidates: the political campaign is behind us and the time has come for the new fatherland to be built together.
And, by the way, the new fatherland is not a chronological problem. There is no reason to neither exclude nor discriminate against anyone. For me it is not an excluding concept, but rather inclusive and cohesive. The important thing is the moral tone and an attitude of public service.
At the end of my administration, in July 2009, I aspire to one single reward.
I want the poorest of Panamanians to say: "Martín, I'm now living better, I now have food, I have water, I'm in good health, I have education, I have housing, I have reliable retirement pay, I am not afraid of being mugged, and, most of all, that I have a future and that I have dignity."
And when he says that, he doesn't feel that he owes me, nor anybody else.
That he feels the pride of having been born here, and feels that this was possible because we had this opportunity to create a new fatherland together.
Then I will attempt to repay my children, Daniela, Martín and Nicolás, for the time that Vivian and I borrowed from them to help build a better homeland for them and for all Panamanian children.
And I will be able to tell my parents, Omar Torrijos and Xenia Espino, that they can feel proud of their son, as proud as I feel about them.
I pray God to be able to return to this same podium in four years and ten months time, to render an accounting of my deeds.
God willing, I will then be able to say, with my head on high and in satisfaction: Yes, we could!
Yes, we could redo the country's image!
Yes, we could retain the canal's efficiency!
Yes, we could modernize the educational system!
Yes, we could solve the public health crisis!
Yes, we could diminish unemployment!
Yes, we could combat delinquency, insecurity and corruption!
Yes, we could modernize the state!
Yes, we could return its self-esteem to the Panamanian people!
And, we could dream once more!
THANK YOU!
Editor's note: To see the Spanish original, go to http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_10/issue_17/spanish_01.html.
Also in this section:
Panama News Briefs
Mireya's last-minute pardons complicate Panama's foreign relations
A bitter transition between administrations
Martín Torrijos's inaugural address
