HACER Latin American News | Panama: Martinelli's Short Honeymoon - by Roberto Cerrud-Rodriguez

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Panama: Martinelli’s Short Honeymoon – by Roberto Cerrud-Rodriguez

By thonetvander ⋅ February 3, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

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In Panama, the Attorney General, who is the head of the Public Ministry, is designated by the President, approved by the National Assembly, and serves for an uninterrupted period of 10 years[1]. Ever since we returned to a democratic system of government in 1989, all administrations (President Endara, President Perez-Balladares, President Moscoso and President Torrijos) have respected this institutional arrangement, and no President until now had put pressure to remove an acting Attorney General.

Martinelli has completely ignored that constitutional and political precedent and began a smear campaign against Ana Matilde Gomez, the current head of the Public Ministry, of illegally wiretapping a former prosecutor who has been found guilty of asking for bribes[2]. All this was based on a decision by the Supreme Court stating that the head of the Public Ministry didn’t have the authority to order the wiretapping of any suspect without a judicial order[3]; the Attorney General was informed that she was going to be suspended from her position on the evening of January 29, 2010[4], and even though she has the constitutional authority to say who is going to replace her until her trial is over[5], the current Administration has already named who is going to be her successor[6], an action that is clearly unconstitutional.

This is very dangerous, as the Martinelli administration has focused almost exclusively on concentrating power on the Executive branch of government; they already have control of the National Assembly, last December they gained control of the Supreme Court, and now they’re looking to take over the Public Ministry, which is in charge of prosecuting criminals, and nothing stands in their way if they ever want to use it as a tool to persecute the current government’s political enemies, which grow in number every day; even the historical leaders who once fought against Noriega’s regime during the 1980’s, the Cruzada Civilista (Civic Crusade), have called for a protest against such blatant concentration of powers[7].

Even though Martinelli has managed to project an international image of being a defender of liberty and free markets, domestically he has done nothing but raise taxes[8] and even create new ones alienating business owners, including those in the Colon Free Zone – he even raised the minimum wages to all sectors of Panamanian economy[9], except for the sugar industry, in which he (and his vice-president, who is the owner of the largest distillery in Panama) has economic interests[10]. Only the immediate public outcry that was caused after the media published the news about this privilege was able to stop this privilege from being passed into law, causing a very embarrassing situation to the Ministry of Labor, who tried to defend this privilege and was forced to recant later.[11] This raise in the minimum wage, together with a huge tax increase, has negatively affected the economy, since Panama is right in the middle of a recession.

Martinelli has shown that he’s nothing more than a populist and a demagogue, who has managed to alienate the very same businessmen who backed up his candidacy[12]; he has even alienated the media who once supported him, by threatening to send to the National Assembly a censorship law[13], under the pretense that the media is acting against public morality. It was thanks to the negative public reaction that the government was forced to change the content of the law[14].

To make matters worse, on February 2nd, 2010, the creation of a Ministry of Public Security was approved in a Cabinet meeting. This new Ministry, once approved by the National Assembly, will have under its responsibility all armed forces within the Republic[15]. This goes totally against the principle by which our Constitution was reformed to prohibit the creation of an army, after the fall of Noriega’s dictatorship, because it concentrates all of the National Police, the National Aeronaval Services, and the Border Patrol forces in a single institution. There are even rumors that the government is planning to call for a Constituent Assembly to reform our Constitution and allow for immediate reelection. And I think we have seen this modus operandi before.

References:

[1] Articles 203,204, 221, Constitution of the Repubic of Panama of 1972, reformed by the Acts of 1978, 1983, 1993, 1994 and 2004. http://www.asamblea.gob.pa/asamblea/constitucion/

[2]http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/07/08/hoy/panorama/663137.html,

* http://www.prensa.com/hoy/panorama/2009632.asp

[3] http://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTemp/26197/12763.pdf; According to Panamanian Constitutional tradition, a law that becomes unconstitutional after a Constitutional reform, must first be declared so by the Supreme Court for it to be void of any legal authority; as the law that gave the Attorney General power to order a wiretap hadn’t been declared unconstitutional by the Panamanian Supreme Court at the moment of the corrupt prosecutor’s case, Ana Matilde Gomez’ actions were legal.

[4] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/01/29/hoy/panorama/2078039.asp

[5] Article 224, Constitution of the Repubic of Panama of 1972, reformed by the Acts of 1978, 1983, 1993, 1994 and 2004. http://www.asamblea.gob.pa/asamblea/constitucion/

[6] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/01/29/hoy/panorama/2078766.asp,

* http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/02/03/hoy/panorama/2083039.asp

[7] *http://horacero.com.pa/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19538:hora-cero&catid=82:ultima-hora&Itemid=111129

* http://www.pa-digital.com.pa/periodico/edicion-actual/nacion-interna.php?story_id=883481#axzz0eWCZcdXg

[8] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/01/05/uhora/local_2010010517345450.asp

[9] http://www.laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2009/12/21/contenido/16413290.asp

[10] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/01/18/hoy/panorama/2065057.asp

[11] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/01/19/hoy/panorama/2065906.asp

[12] http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2009/09/03/uhora/local_2009090311411066.asp

*http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2009/09/03/hoy/nacionales/1910056.asp

*http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2009/08/03/hoy/Negocios/1874832.asp

*http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2009/09/03/uhora/local_2009090312001630.asp