Letters to the editor

Like all citizens of this country, the Moral Vanguard of the Country party in formation listened to the invitation that you publicly made in your message of Monday, June 13, convening what you called "a great national dialogue, without exclusions" about Law 17. This consultation that you now propose, the product of undeniable public pressure, should have been carried out before approving the law and it was your unwillingness to do so then that has put the country in the tense standoff in which unfortunately, it finds itself today.

We are not so naive as to fail to recognize the real intention that moves your government is none other than to try to cripple the strikes that have been declared and the actions of FRENADESSO, in an attempt to slip out of the sticky situation into which the thoughtless actions of your own collaborators, with your consent, have cornered you. Despite them we understand that the deep and justified displeasure manifested by all sectors in national life, born of the secrecy and methods of acting without consultation that have so far characterized your government, oblige us to shoulder with all responsibility your hackneyed invitation, in the interest of establishing a climate of peace and a return to normality that all the citizens of our country demand, the preservation of which is the primordial obligation of every government.

It is regrettable that with the recent actions of those in office concerning the reforms that have been imposed upon we, the Panamanian people, your government has lost all of the credibility that must surround the dialogue you proposed. Consequently the participants must have the full right not to be mocked during this effort, as has been the sad experience of many sectors that have placed their confidence and good faith in the Presidency and the National Assembly; thus your active, personal and direct participation in the conduct of the dialogue will be the guarantee that's required to assure the seriousness of your presidential intentions. After all that has happened, it has become a responsibility that you can't delegate to any subordinate. With your explicit accession to this, your decision would be a relevant factor for us to take into account in order to promise my personal participation in my capacity as party president and that of our first party's first vice-president, and I would take it as a clear signal of the capital importance of the matter, thus designating the highest level of the party.

We can't stop saying that, in our judgment, the proposed dialogue could have a possibility of success only if it complies with certain conditions that we consider indispensable to the creation of a climate of confidence that it would be productive. One of these is that the government will be disposed to fully explain --- however long it takes --- all of the premises that sustain your conclusions and the measures that have been imposed. I don't see how you can advance while you don't put all of your cards on the table, while you don't fully and frankly answer all the questions, while you don't amply clear up all the doubts and suspicions.

The government must be ready to make all the changes and improvements to the regime that was approved to a drumbeat; for this purpose it would be very easy to make these modification thanks to the political control that, with neither discussions nor subterfuges, you exercise over your legislative caucus. In the face of this legislative spectacle that all Panamanians have ended up witnessing, it would hardly be serious to insinuate some separation of powers, which by all measures is non-existant between these organs of state in our country today.

Another condition for success is the development of a true dialogue in which all parties pay due attention, far from an environment of mere sterile formality that's marred by the farce that we witnessed during the approval of the recent laws; it would make things worse and be totally counter-productive to put the label "dialogue" on an exercise that fundamentally is nothing more than a monologue with a deaf government that like always has its preconceived solutions prepared in advance.

It will also be indispensable that the government act in good faith, without trying to suffocate any united judgment among those invited to the dialogue that would be necessary to reach a consensus. Any attempt to divide the participants would result in a pyrrhic victory that might satisfy special interests but will leave the national interests and public opinion unsatisfied.

The conduct of the dialogue you propose must take on a certain minimum order, which on one hand must not be the straitjacket that until now those in office have imposed on us, nor on the other hand degenerate into chaos that brings about no concrete result and worsens the situation. It would be necessary, therefore, to designate a widely respected moderator who can foster an adequate environment to reach positive conclusions.

Finally, Mr. President, we reiterate that, unlike on earlier occasions, we could answer your call on this occasion because the welfare of the people demands it, but we will only do so if we can really sustain the hope that we have been invited to a true dialogue with a health prospect of finding the solution that everyone wants. Whether we will be defrauded one more time will depend entirely upon you. Let our invitation not be an offering that the French call "un cadeau empoissoné” (a poisoned gift).

Editor's note: As this issue of The Panama News was uploaded the dialogue for which the president called had yet to begin. The prospects looked grim, as the first thing that the government did was to exclude the very people who are on strike, FRENADESSO, from the talks. Then the Torrijos administration failed to get the traditional moderator of first recourse in times of national emergency, the Catholic Church, to serve in that role. The nation's churches will be represented at the talks only in the status of observers. Instead the government has designated the Council of University Rectors as moderator --- but that's problematic because by law all other universities depend on the University of Panama for their accreditation and for approval of any courses that they want to teach, and the self-styled "Rector Magnifico" of the University of Panama is a top-level PRD leader who has in the past expressed presidential ambitions. And it's unclear whether former President Guillermo Endara and his embryonic Vanguardia Moral party will be allowed a seat at the table in any case: PRD wags, taking a line from the advertising industry into which President Torrijos is married, have maintained that "if they're not in the Yellow Pages they don't exist" as a sneering brushoff to the runner-up in the 2004 presidential election.

I rely on The Panama News to keep me up to date on happenings in Panama since I am not fully bilingual. I appreciate the coverage you have done on the social security reforms.

It turns my stomach how fast this was passed. I am waiting for this to go into effect which I think is today.

The impact on my family is over $300 per month and we currently live on a paycheck like most Panamanians.

Earlier this week I was driving downtown and I pointed out to a friend of mine, who voted for Martín, that where are all the Martín stickers? He laughed and said, "Everyone tore them up and threw them away." So, if you want to get a grass roots view of how unpopular Martín is these days look at the cars... no Martín stickers --- or should I say, there should be "No Martín" stickers.

I hope the people of Panama march against PRD and Martín, and give him the boot like they did to the president of Bolivia.

Panamanian politics has largely avoided the anticlericalism that was so prevalent in much of Latin America. Then came a young socialist "Reform Priest" from Colombia in the late 60's --- ready to organize the "campesinos" in rural reforms.

At the time of his disappearance, he was directing a peasant agricultural cooperative which had drawn opposition from local landowners. Fr. Gallego had long been incorporated into the martyrology of Central America, as is Fr. Conrado Sanjur, in the urban sector.

Then what does the Catholic Church in Panama, theology or ecumenism have to do with the politics of the "urban guerrilla international" and other such radical websites on the internet?

Editor's note: There is no question that Father Sanjur is the nation's best known radical priest. In Panama, unlike much of the rest of Latin America, the divide between the liberation theologians of the left like Conrado Sanjur and the religious right like the folks from Opus Dei has been managed with a lot of tact by our local Catholic hierarchy.

What would Jesus Christ have thought about the social conflicts in which Father Sanjur has played his part? It's hard to say, when one has never had the personal contact with Christ that this reporter has had with Sanjur. But it's not entirely unreasonable to suppose that if the man who drove the moneylenders out of Jerusalem's temple showed up in Panama today, he might not trust private banks with the Social Security Fund.

Father Gallego is treated like a martyr because in the classical Christian sense that's what he was. His cooperative in Veraguas province's Santa Fe district, by the way, still exists. In the larger scheme of things, the main thing that the dictatorship accomplished when it murdered Héctor Gallego was to antagonize many of Panama's Catholics.

Can you tell me if if restaurants are likely to be open, busses running, taxis available, Miraflores locks visitor center and Summit Botanical Gardens open, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Thank you.

Editor's note: I'm not sure about the Miraflores Locks visitors' center --- the canal, of course, works 365 days per year --- but city parks like Summit are closed on Christmas, and may be on Christmas Eve. It will be much easier to get a bus or taxi on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day.

Thank you. I thoroughly enjoy reading the news from my native land. Keep up the good work.

Eric, I really enjoy reading The Panama News. I don't speak Spanish and probably never will (would gladly if I could). The first thing that I do is read my Bible email and then The Panama News. Keep the good work up.

I am interested in becoming a more active Panamanian. Do you or anyone know of any upcoming events anywhere in the United States or Panama?

Editor's note: For things in Panama, we try to have as complete a calendar as possible. Compiling this is arduous work, especially because so many promoters on the cultural and sporting scenes are, quite frankly, lazy individuals who were raised with maids picking up after them, consider work to be beneath their hereditary status in life and can't be bothered to actually pick up the phone or send an email to publicize the events they are promoting, either in The Panama News or in any other medium. We encourage those who put on cultural or sporting events and who do not fit the above description to take advantage of the opportunity afforded in our calendar by sending announcements by email to editor@thepanamanews.com. Our free Panama UnClassified ad service is also available for the promotion of concerts, sporting events and so on.

We publish things about Panamanian community events in the USA when people tell us about them. We do have plenty of Panamanian readers all around the United States, particularly in New York and Florida, and to the extent that members of these communities contribute to The Panama News we will be a better community service.

To better respond to your request, we will in a future issue publish a guide with links to Panamanian groups in the states --- so all of you who are physically in the USA but have a piece of your heart down here, send us information to include in such a guide.

Build a home in Las Cumbres with Villa Concordia --- http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/site/pages/concordia.html
Make the Executive Hotel your headquarters in Panama City --- http://www.executivehotel-panama.com

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