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opinionAlso in this section: What they're saying about the Seguro Social crisis
I admit it. We made a mistake in the method we used to approve the proposed reforms of the Social Security Fund. President Martín Torrijos Panama is reducing its deficit and giving the country greater flexibility. Standard & Poors analyst Lisa Schineller It's a lie that the fund was "at the point of collapse." Far from "saving the fund," what those who are imposing this Law of Death are trying to do is prevent the retirement of thousands of people who were insured, at the same time that they guarantee that some $450,000 goes to line the pockets of private banks and private hospitals. FRENADESSO press statement We weren't going to sit down and listen to epithets and asseverations that highly damage the president. Labor Minister Reynaldo Rivera Why don't we believe in the false dialogue called for by the president? The government attempts to play the position of private enterprise (individual accounts, privatization of pensions) against the position of the popular classes (the principle of solidarity), which are irreconcilable, and at the same time tries to divide FRENADESSO by denying its participation in the dialogue. Teachers Association of the Republic of Panama (ASOPROF) There isn't the will on the part of the authorities to resolve the Social Security Fund problem because they haven't invited FRENADESSO to the national dialogue, even though this entity has received the support of all the citizenry. Luis Chen González, president of the Federation of Professional Associations of Panama It's not a popular measure, but it had to be taken to assure retirement pensions. US State Department spokesperson They run to the gringos and repress their own people! Leftist chant during strike rally Sadly, this radical nucleus has in its pretensions used groups like the teachers, who have been taken by surprise in their good faith. Government and Justice Minister Héctor Alemán Hundreds of workers were arbitrarily arrested by the police while they were peacefully protesting. SUNTRACS secretary general Genaro López The teachers will always take a stand against injustice. University of Panama professor Diógenes Sánchez The recent reforms proposed by the national government to the Seguro Social organic law weren't sufficiently publicized, debated or analyzed. The Catholic Church's Panama Episcopal Conference [The reforms] threaten to strangle the economic welfare of the citizens of this country. Chamber of Commerce president August Simons Once the problem is resolved, it's probable that President Torrijos will come back to recover his popularity. National Private Enterprise Council president Guillermo Villarreal So long as the government and the businessmen insist that the only source of income for the institution is the pockets of the lower middle class sectors and reject the possibility of giving the Fund the resources that the shares in the privatized industries generate or a share in the wealth that the Panama Canal generates, it will be impossible to reach a consensus. Musician Luis Arteaga It's possible that a great many of those who protest don't even pay into Seguro. Partido Popular activist Guillermo Cochez People who believe the PRD: ignorant people! Teachers' chant during strike rally I hope that there will be a way out of this conflict, because nobody here can live with radical positions. Panameñista Party president Marco Ameglio The Social Security Fund is a sacred institution for the Panamanian people. Father Conrado Sanjur Even when they accept what FRENADESSO proposes, much of the Panamanian population does not feel represented by them. Eduardo López The statements made by PRD deputy Pedro Miguel Gonález and published in the news media, to the effect that 'everyone knows that Genaro López, Saúl Méndez and Conrado Sanjur are members of MLN-29, and thus are interested not in negotiation but in creating anarchy in the country,' are expressions of impotence by the leaders of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, which has done nothing more than go back to the thinking and reality of the era of McCarthyism in Latin America University professor Jorge Luis Macías Fonseca The extreme left guarantees neither access to power nor the solution to the people's problems. Thus it's necessary to expose the 'hidden agenda' of these mistaken sectors, who see in opportunities like the protests about the CSS reforms an excuse for a general insurrection that will bring to power those who don't bother to run in popular elections for fear of being rejected by the population. Attorney Carlos Ayala Montero [The FRENADESSO leaders] always show up with a radical discourse and have attempted to go further and talk about a change in the economic model and the power structure. PRD legislator Pedro Miguel González The president argued that the law's suspension must come from a legislative exercise. But the radical majority in the Assembly rejected an initiative by deputy José I. Blandón that sought the suspension or the repeal of the law's effects. This means, I reiterate, that the PRD majority goes on playing the role of political radicals. Former University of Panama rector Carlos Iván Zúñiga Guardia The propaganda for the proposed law to reform the Social Security Fund announced benefits and increases. In reality Law 17, which was approved in the middle of the night, went back on those words. CARITAS-Panama Catholic social ministry It's clear that the repeal of the recent law isn't politically viable, but a profound revision to correct a series of articles that generate a profound injustice is. Former legislator Carlos D. Abadía Abad The government had a thousand ways to do things right, but it chose the unique option to do them badly. Solidaridad legislator Abraham Martínez It's unacceptable and inhuman that the working class must once again bear the consequences of the corruption of the reigning political and economic system. Thought and Transformative Action (PAT) communique The labor leadership has lost a great opportunity. La Prensa "Hoy por Hoy" front page editorial Even though the majority of sectors in this country disagree with the Law 17 that reforms the social security system, the opposition of each is for different and even contradictory reasons. El Panama America editorial FRENADESSO isolates itself Headline in La Estrella The [previous] national dialogue had reached agreements on health services, and these were ignored, even though medical attention is one of the subjects that most affects the citizens. La Prensa columnist Lina Vega Abad All the medical community is in solidarity with the Panamanian people. Dr. Mario Lombana, AMOACSS doctors and dentists union People are angry because there was little public consultation or debate over the reforms. Law professor and columnist Jorge Giannareas Mr. President, stop jerking the people around and tell the truth. Former President Guillermo Endara
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