editorial

Panama turns to the right

Florida's conservative Republican lawmaker Connie Mack has hailed the victory of capitalism over socialism in Panama's recent elections. It's a dogmatic oversimplification, but from Mack's perspective it does make a certain amount of sense. 

That most of Panama's mainstream news media treated Mack's comments as evidence of a new and improved relationship between the United States and Panama makes far less sense. First, the Republicans were routed in last November's American elections and Mack speaks for the opposition, not those currently in power. Moreover, notwithstanding Pedro Miguel González's allegations, it does not appear that the US Embassy here or the Obama administration took sides in this year's Panamanian decision.

Ricardo Martinelli's sweeping victory is surely not something that the Obama administration is upset about, even if the pro-PRD elements in his inner circle and in the Democratic Party may have seen one of their idols smashed. There are going to be cordial relations between the White House and the Palacio de las Garzas, and normal relations between the US and Panamanian governments.

Martinelli's early big problems, both in domestic affairs and in relations with the United States, are likely to be with organized labor. Panama's teachers and public sector doctors are glad to see Torrijos and his party go, but they know that Martinelli is an anti-union businessman and are warily plotting their new strategies. Surely some of the unions will test Martinelli at the beginning of his term. Meanwhile in the House of Representatives the US-Panama free trade agreement that Martinelli and Obama both support is not going to get out of committee unless Panama does something to reform its banking secrecy laws. There would have to be an extraordinary deal to get such changes through a lame duck PRD administration and legislature before the end of June. The problems with Washington ratifying the free trade deal are also essentially difficulties with the labor movement, as unions that are hostile to the NAFTA model of trade relations are more powerful within the Democratic Party and more influential in the halls of Congress than they have been in decades.

Martinelli's own party will not control the National Assembly but the alliance of parties that supported him will, by a comfortable margin. The differences in personalities are far more important than those of ideology. The management of those differences will take some skill.

Panama has moved to the right, but do not confuse Panama's next president with the man at the head of the last US turn to the right. Ricardo Martinelli may, like George W. Bush, be the scion of a wealthy family, but Martinelli built on what he had to create an impressive business empire while Bush ruined every private business that he ever touched. That's one powerful example of the difference between a pragmatist and an ideologue.

Now let's see what kind of a negotiator Martinelli will be. Let's see if he will be a businesslike president, or if we are at the start of another five years in which the government will be run for the benefit of a few specific businesses. Let's see if he's good at surviving embarrassments at the hands of his friends as well as confronting challenges posed by his foes.

Balbina Herrera, looking out for her personal interests first, foremost and exclusively, didn't congratulate Ricardo Martinelli on his victory. She lost largely because she's that kind of a person. However, nobody who cares about Panama and its people should hope for Martinelli's failure. We're already in the grip of a serious international economic crisis and a failed government would mean suffering for Panamanians of all social classes and aggravated problems that would plague us well after Martinelli finishes his term in office.

So although The Panama News will probably criticize many of the things that the new government does, we do wish Mr. Martinelli and his team well. He is, after all, now the president elect of ALL Panamanians.

Let's get a quick and definitive decision on Bosco's situation

By the plain meaning of Article 13 of the Panamanian Constitution and the oath of US citizenship that Bosco Vallarino took back in 1994, a plurality of Panama City voters have chosen a mayor who is ineligible to serve because he explicitly renounced his allegiance to Panama. The Electoral Tribunal, in a disgraceful partisan display designed to boost the chances of the PRD candidate who ended up losing anyway, declared that regardless of the facts of the matter, it couldn't do anything about it. The Registro Publico was an accomplice in this process, declaring that since it doesn't keep records of these matters, there is no record in its file and thus as far as it is concerned Bosco Vallarino's renunciation of his Panamanian citizenship never happened. In each case, however, these discredited public institutions left open the possibility of further proceedings as facts not on file come in.

The prolongation of this game will not benefit Panama City. The case should be appealed to the Supreme Court at once, which ought to act before the change of administrations. If they are going to interpret away Article 13 there can be good and bad things said about such a decision, but if they delay a decision the uncertainty is harmful to good municipal administration. It would be worse to have a switch from Bosco Vallarino to Roxana Méndez in the mayor's office after the former has already put a team in place. Those sorts of moves always come with administrative and economic price tags affixed.

Vallarino said not one word in defense of the many Panamanians who find themselves in the same situation, but they deserve a prompt decision on the status of their rights as citizens more than he does. In play are not only their rights to vote or hold public office, but their rights to live and work here.

The magistrates should decide, and decide quickly.

Bear in mind...

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