editorial

This year the Panamanian political scene is likely to be dominated by two great issues, an anticipated free trade agreement with the United States and a probable referendum on a plan to expand the Panama Canal by installing a third set of locks that's big enough to accommodate ships that are too big to fit through the present canal. On both issues battle lines have long been forming, even though in neither case have we seen any actual plan.

That's mostly the fault of government institutions, and most of all of President Torrijos. The PRD controls or dominates most of the major news media in this country and the president is the son-in-law of the founder of Panama's monopolistic advertising agency cartel, and from this social milieu comes the notion that buzzwords and slogans can be passed off for transparency. Maybe that was the case when this administration took office, but the Panamanian people have seen too many slick legislative maneuvers in the middle of the night, heard too many excuses for why the famous "zero corruption" promise can't be kept and become far too jaded to take words like "modernization" at face value from this particular set of politicians. A substantial minority of Panamanians will oppose whatever a free trade agreement specifies or whatever canal expansion plan is proffered merely because it comes from an administration they don't trust.

The government must be much more respectful of the ordinary citizen's intelligence, and the voters must take their civic responsibility much more seriously. Both of the proposals that will take center stage in the public debate this year must be carefully examined by the news media and the citizenry. If the government contrives to prevent a proper analysis and debate by way of insufficient time for such procedures or less than complete disclosure, then that alone would be sufficient cause to oppose its plans. If people support or oppose a plan without reading it and the decision they make turns out to be a disaster, they'll deserve the fruits of their laziness.

Although most of the free trade negotiating process has been held in secret, we have seen the NAFTA/CAFTA pattern and we have just been witness to a charade Panamanian "inspection" of the US food safety system and those things are causes for concern. "Globalization" and "free trade" and "economic liberalization" have been the slogans of a process that has been going on for some time now, and that experiment has been such a disaster for Latin America that in country after country its supporters have been defeated or seen their legislative majorities reduced. If the United States presents and the Torrijos administration accepts a "heads the American corporations win, tails the Panamanian people lose" agreement, no jingle that the ad cartel devises will save the PRD's reputation.

We are told that there will be no need to dam rivers in the Western Watershed in order to make the third locks work, but critics say that this technology will make Miraflores Lake, the source for most of the capital's drinking water, unpotably brackish. If that turns out to be true and the price of adding desalination to the water treatment system is not included in the Panama Canal Authority's cost estimates, then we will know that the figures given will have been false and there will be ample justification for a "no" vote --- not against canal modernization, but rather a vote of no confidence in people who treat us as if we were all fools.

On the other hand, it could be that the government will show us a good trade deal for Panama, or a wise investment that we ought to make in order to keep our principal industrial asset competitive. In either of those cases it would be irresponsible to oppose this country's best interests based on personal dislikes or partisan antipathies.

So let us see the plans, Your Excellency.

Bear in mind…

No one provokes me with impunity.

Mary Queen of Scots

Poverty and ignorance are the two great allies of the totalitarian enemies of freedom.

Ricardo J. Alfaro

Certain peace is better than anticipated victory.

Livy