The leadership of the PRD will ask the Attorney General today to open an investigation into the alleged illegal recording of a cell phone conversation of the President of the PRD, Francisco Sánchez Cárdenas. In the telephone recording, which was published on the internet, one could hear the voice of the PRD of the PRD, Francisco Sánchez Cárdenas, speaking with a person who is allegedly a union leader in Changuinola during the violent protests and demonstrations in Bocas del Toro. They will present the complaint today at 10:00 am. The tape was posted to YouTube, and one could hear Sanchez Cardenas talking to a person who seems to be drunk. The union leader asked "Pachi" Cardenas for instructions, while the PRD leader asked him to stand firm, but not to engage in acts of violence. (La Critica)

Related Article: Bombshell: PRD Coordinating Riot Actions With SUNTRACS - Caught On Tape!

Editor's Comment: Sure, why not open an investigation. The Attorney General's first question will be "is that your voice on the tape? Who were you speaking to?" Then they will call in that guy, interview him, and the entire investigation will actually morph into an inquiry of the illegal conspiracy between the PRD and the union leaders to destabilize the country. And of course, the source of the recording will never be revealed or uncovered. It looks like the PRD is going to slip on their own banana peel a little bit here. First the PRD said the recording was a fake, and when nobody believed that, now they are asking for an investigation. OK...   

Lawmaker Gabriel Mendez, better known as "Uncle Gabriel," yesterday left the ranks of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and joined the ruling Democratic Change (CD) political party, reporting that his party had treated him badly. With this registration, the CD now has 26 Deputies in the National Assembly, while the PRD has 22, following the defection of four lawmakers. Mendez arrived at about 12:00 noon at the headquarters of the Electoral Tribunal with a group of supporters from his circuit 8-8, who also signed up to join the CD political party. The process took awhile because Mendez's identification card (cedula) had expired, so it had to be renewed before the party change could officially be recorded. Some of the other National Assembly Deputies who accompanied Mendez as he signed up for the CD were José Muñoz, Sergio Gálvez, Aris De Icaza and Marylín Vallarino, among others.

"I am not for sale, and nobody buys me. I am doing this with conviction because I feel good, for the people who are with me, and for the other Deputies who are around me," said Mendez when asked about the alleged promises made by the CD in order to get him to abandon the PRD and to sign up with the CD. José Muñoz said the simple fact that they were present at the event clearly demonstrates that there is unity in the government. He said that there have been no kind of offer made to either Mendez nor to any of the three other lawmakers who have changed from the PRD to the CD. "Welcome to all who want to work with our party, our doors are open," said Munoz. He says they currently have the majority of the Deputies in the National Assembly, and that more people are joining the party.

National Assembly Deputies José Lozada, Rony Araúz and Rubén Frías were the other three who have already changed from the PRD to the CD. Mitchell Does, the Secretary General of the PRD, said Panama is a free country and that people can join any party they want. He said that in the end when it's election time, the people will not support him because he has no principles, referring to Mendez. (El Siglo)

Editor's Comment: The bleeding continues in the PRD. Once again, notice the timing. Martinelli is trying to put the PRD back on the offensive. Mendez probably had this move planned for some time, but they wanted to get him out there right now on the news to show how weak the PRD remains, politically speaking. It's a political war out there, and the whole Changuinola thing was just once scene of a larger show. This is another. Oh, and when someone denies any kind of a payoff or deal to get him to switch parties - in Panama that normally means "of course there was a payoff, but we will never admit it..."   

Lawmaker Jose Blandon said today he would not accept the post of Secretary of the Mayor of Panama if the Prosecutor of Administration determines the two positions are incompatible, but he reiterated his readiness to help the municipality to resolve the crisis. Blandon acknowledged today that one of the biggest problems of the municipal government is waste management. According to sources close to the Panameñista political party, Blandon would exercise the office of Secretary General of the Municipality of Panama, ad honors, but he would retain his salary as a Deputy to the National Assembly. Dr. Jorge Gamboa Arosemena, a full blooded "Arnulfista" but who disagrees with the current leadership of the Panameñista party, said the party has pledged to appoint one of their best politicians, Jose Isabel Blandon, as the Secretary of the Municipal Government, in order to not lose the mayor's office. (TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: Ah, OK. Blandon does not have any intention of resigning his post as an elected Deputy to the National Assembly. He wants to keep his seat and also work as the Secretary for the Mayor's office in order to help Bosco regain some credibility and respect. It will be up to the Prosecutor for Administration to determine if he can legally do that.   

Political analyst Jose Blandon said this morning on the Channel 13 Telemetro news broadcast that "the government of Ricardo Martinelli is his own worst enemy," referring to poor management in the areas of communication and intelligence that has occurred in this government. "I've never seen such a government, that came in with such acceptance and strength, which quickly loses that strength," said Blandon. For the analyst Martinelli's mistake has been to believe the people gave him the power of absolute rule, when this is not so, and to believe that the Democratic Revolutionary Party no longer exists. "The reality is that now the PRD is no longer taking about the internal crisis in the party, but rather their priorities lie elsewhere and that they want to run politically in 2014," said Blandon. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: Blandon is right. Martinelli got cocky, overstepped his bounds, and underestimated the PRD. However, it's still early in the game. He's got time to recover. They're making some rookie mistakes.   

Panama's Tourism Minister, Solomon Shamah, responded to PRD lawmaker Leandro Ávila Leandro Ávila on the program "Semana" on TVN Channel 2, that the dirty campaign against the PRD came thanks to information provided by Juan Carlos Navarro. "Navarro gave us the material and we just used it against Balbina, look inside of his team, the smear campaign was born there," he said. Shamah said "I've never conducted a smear campaign against the PRD" after the PRD lawmaker said the government should work for the people and abandon the smear campaign they have mounted against the opposition. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: Salomón Shamah was the campaign manager for Ricardo Martinelli, especially with things having to do with the message and public information. He would have been the person managing and "dirt" provided by Juan Carlos Navarro. Remember the PRD had a primary election and at one point Navarro was running against Balbina Herrera, so it would have made sense for him to provide this kind of information to Ricardo Martinelli in order to damage Balbina Herrera. After the PRD primary and before he joined Balbina's ticket as the Vice Presidential candidate, Navarro was also very pissed off and bitter at having lost - he really wanted to be the PRD's candidate. I don't know exactly when he provided this information, however it makes perfect sense that he could have at some point. And of course now he will deny, deny, deny...   

A survey conducted by the company Ditcher And Neira released by TVN-2 television showed that the popularity and approval rating for Panama City Mayor Ricardo Bosco Vallarino is only 9%, compared to 89.9% which rate his administration as either poor or very poor. Vallarino's administration entered a new chapter last week when Vice President Juan Carlos Varela saved him from a collision with the government, which asked him to resign because of mistakes made. President Ricardo Martinelli publicly asked the Vallarino's resignation, but Bosco announced on Monday that he would replace key staff members in seven to fifteen days. The poll conducted by TVN Channel 2 said 1.4% of respondents classified Vallarino's administration as excellent, and 7.6% said it was good. However 33.3% described it as poor, 56.6% as very bad, and 1.1% did not respond.

Now, a week later, Vallarino still does not have a new team installed and he justified the delay by saying he is studying the resumes and he hoped businessmen and independents would apply as well. The opposition believes that Vallarino just made the announcement to buy time and to alleviate the pressure on his administration. Vallarino blamed the main problems of his municipal government on debts left by the former Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro from the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). According to Vallarino, Navarro left a municipality in bankruptcy and a sacked administration. Navarro defended himself by accusing Vallarino of being unable to do the job, and challenged him to present evidence of the alleged irregularities in his administration (1999 - 2009).

The survey can be read at the website http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/encuestas_dyn.asp TVN-2, which also measures the performance of the government of President Ricardo Martinelli. Vallarino, a news anchor and prestigious advertising broadcaster, won the position by beating the physician from the opposition PRD, Roberto Velasquez. But Vallarino's candidacy was marked by the conflict, after it was discovered that he had nationalized as an American citizen. Legal maneuvers and the lack of a court decision in the case allowed Vallarino to reach the position, with the backing of the overwhelming victory of the coalition of President Ricardo Martinelli, on May 3 last year.

Vallarino was questioned over a check drawn up for his wife to travel to Taiwan, which was not cashed after the scandal broke. His security chief was fired because he had yet to serve a prison sentence, and the installation of some Christmas decorations have been criticized for the cost and questionable benefits for the capital. Last month it was discovered Vallarino paid half a million dollars in consulting fees to improve his image and security of the municipality without a tender (bidding) procedure. The central government had to intervene in the garbage collection in the capital, after the municipal government allowed thousands of tons of garbage to pile up in the capital city. A bid to buy garbage trucks, set on a weekend, prompted complaints from major suppliers and the purchase was suspended. Vallarino said the "friendly fire" is the culprit causing the delays to this plans to turn Panama City into the best capital city in the world. The capital's respondents are not very convinced by this promise. (Hora Cero)

Editor's Comment: The original title of this article was "Disapproval Rating For Mayor Vallarino at 89.9%." However, prior to this Bosco only had a 4% approval rating. If you're looking for good news, he's now climbed up to 9% - or an increase of 5%. When you're laying flat on the floor and bleeding, there's no place to go but up, right? Only about 41% to go, and he can start thinking about reelection (grin.) The PRD comment that he's just trying to buy time is probably accurate. Bosco was the top headline until the riots broke out in Changuinola, which bought him some breathing room.   

Although Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino said he has not yet made any changes to his team because he is still reviewing the resumes and the profiles of potential candidates, last night it was learned lawmaker Jose Blandon has accepted the post of Secretary General of the Mayor's office. During the day today it is expected there will be a meeting to refine the formation of the new administrative organization at City Hall. Bosco Vallarino will participate in the planning meeting. Vallarino said the doors are open to private entrepreneurs, politicians and independents to be a part of his new team. (La Critica)

Editor's Comment: Good news. Blandon is young, smart, experienced, capable, and respected.    

The Mayor of Panama City, Bosco Vallarino, revealed this morning that he and his team are conducting various studies in the Municipality of Panama. Vallarino explained that so far they have identified "five possible cases" that would bring former Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro to the bench for prosecution. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Counter attack? It seems that one option for Bosco, as a way to make himself useful to Juan Carlos Varela and Martinelli's "Grand Opposition Alliance" would be to pursue former Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro on corruption charges. I spoke to Bosco last night and he said again that he has no intention of resigning his post, and that most of the "friendly fire" was coming from politicians from Ricardo Martinelli's Cambio Democratico political party, who want Roxana Mendez in his chair. He said much of that was invented, much of the negative press was bought and paid for, and there was one particular CD politician who got exceptionally pissed off when he refused to grant a direct contract to rent some trucks, insisting that it be done through a public bidding process. Anyway, it looks like Bosco is now ready to fight back a little, starting with Juan Carlos Navarro who is still an easily recognizable PRD political figure and a potential presidential candidate for 2014 (where he would face Juan Carlos Varela). If Bosco could erase Navarro from the equation then it would be worth keeping him around, politically speaking anyway. Let's see how this plays out.   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This afternoon at a press conference Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino said he is not going to resign, however he did say that he will be dismissing and replacing his entire management team. He said all of the members of his closest staff have placed their positions at this disposal, paving the way for Vallarino to try again, but with new faces. Yesterday Vallarino met for four hours with Vice President Juan Carlos Varela regarding the problems he's been having. Last week Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli made it perfectly clear that he was fed up with the problems being caused by Vallarino and that he wanted him to resign. However, there is nothing in Panamanian law or the Constitution allowing the president to dismiss a sitting mayor who has been duly elected by the people. The fact of the matter is that Bosco Vallarino is not perceived to be an Albatross hanging around the necks of the "Grand Alliance" of Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela. Bosco has made his decision - he's not going to resign his post. Now, let's see if a change in his support staff will have any positive affect whatsoever.

Copyright 2010 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

Panama's Vice President and Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Varela, said this morning Panama City Mayor Ricardo Bosco Vallarino, would make an important announcement to the country this afternoon. Varela explained it would be Vallarino who would announce the outcome of their meeting held yesterday afternoon, for four hours. Varela added that their political party (Panameñista) ] has handled the situation very carefully and in the end it's up to Vallarino to make his decision. According to Varela, during the meeting they made an assessment of the image in the community on the management of Vallarino and also discussed issues relating to economic resources. "The mayor inherited the inabilities of the previous administration," which is why he has been behind on the issue (of garbage collection), said Varela. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Interesting. Of course it's Bosco's decision. There's nothing in law or the constitution that allows the president of Panama to force a sitting Mayor who has been duly elected by the people out of office. This is a political issue. Varela is the President of the Panameñista political party, and Bosco Vallarino is also a member of the Panameñista party. Ricardo Martinelli has promised Varela that he will be the primary presidential candidate in the 2014 elections, and they are looking at Bosco Vallarino's 4% approval ratings and they want him gone, for political reasons. In short, they have decided that he's making them look bad. They offered him an Ambassador's position somewhere, which he refused. They are now trying to twist his arm to make him leave. I suspect the meeting yesterday, the reference to "economic resources" - might mean there are some kinds of allegations pending which they could use to force Vallarino out of office using Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi (a la Ana Matilde Gomez) if it came to that. But, they would be loathe to turn the heavy handed guns against one of their own. Let's see what Bosco says this afternoon, if he makes any announcement at all. Wouldn't it be cool if he calls a press conference, every camera in town shows up, and he says "I would like to announce that for lunch today I had a BLT and a Coke..."    

Panama's president Ricardo Martinelli yesterday publicly called for the resignation of Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino. Although Martinelli said he had not yet spoken to Vallarino, he said "we cannot have a dirty city," and "this city can't take any more." However, the decision rests with Vallarino. According to Panamanian law and the Constitution, neither the governor of the Province of Panama nor the President of the Republic have the power to dismiss or remove him from office because he was elected by popular vote.

Martinelli has already said that if Vallarino leaves office then Vice Mayor Roxana Mendez would occupy the position. Méndez, who is currently the Minister of Government, said she is awaiting the Mayor's decision. She said that if Bosco Vallarino resigns as the Mayor of Panama City, then she would simultaneously resign as the Minister of Government in order to take charge of the municipality. "This would be mandatory, not optional," she said. Mendez was elected as the Vice Mayor of Panama City in the May 2009 elections, however she walked away from her post over a disagreement with Vallarino on 30 November 2009.

Vallarino's problems reached a crisis with failures in garbage collection, prompting Martinelli to create a new "Cleanliness Authority" - assuming part of the responsibility that had previously always rested with the municipality. Two days ago Martinelli made it very clear in a public manner that he no longer wanted Vallarino in office.

Vallarino said he will not resign. He said on the Channel 2 TVN news broadcast that former Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro had 10 years "to demonstrate the quality of his work" and that he "has had only one year." Vallarino asked the President for more time to "resolve the situation of the municipality." Vice President Juan Carlos Varela will meet with Vallarino tomorrow to assess the situation. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Yeah, it's not looking too good for Bosco Vallarino. Now of course, the only reason these pressure tactics are going to work is because Juan Carlos Varela, who is the Vice President of Panama and the Foreign Minister, is also the President of the Panameñista political party - the same party as Bosco Vallarino. And most importantly, Ricardo Martinelli promised Juan Carlos Varela that he would be the primary candidate for President in the 2014 election. These guys are smart politicians, and they can read the polls. Recently Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino received a dismal 4% approval rating. Based on that alone Vallarino should resign. If Bosco was PRD then he would flip Martinelli the bird and say "screw you." But since Bosco is supposed to be on the same team, they can ask him to be a team player, and bench him.

It's Not About "Friendly Fire" It has become blazingly obvious that Bosco Vallarino simply can't do the job. He's getting bounced around from one scandal to another, the most recent over his spending of almost $1 million dollars for "image consultants." Money well spent? Not likely. I expect in their meeting tomorrow Juan Carlos Varela will lay things out in a clear and simple manner for Bosco Vallarino - either he steps aside voluntarily, or they will stop protecting him and he will be removed from office anyway (the nasty, dirty, scandalous way) by legal action taken by Martinelli's man at the Attorney General's office - Giuseppe Bonissi. Either way the end result is the same, Bosco Vallarino is gone from the scenario and Martinelli and company can get back to focusing on things that matter - like winning the election in 2014. They simply cannot afford to have Bosco sitting there doing stupid shit for the next four years. He's mucking up their MoJo.   

After president Ricardo Martinelli questioned the management of Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino, and recommending that he should resign, Bosco said this afternoon that he has no intention of resigning. "I recognize that in my first year in office I have committed mistakes, but I ask for more time to do my job," the Mayor said on TVN Channel 2. He said Juan Carlos Navarro had ten years to demonstrate its capacity the Mayor of Panama City, however he has been in office for only one year. He said he needs more time to the job and to accomplish what he wants to get done, to make Panama City the best in Latin America. "Just let me work, and I don't want any more friendly fire," he added. For his part, Vice President and Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Varela, said he would been with Vallarino this Sunday to decide the situation. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Martinelli has decided that, with a 4% approval rating, Bosco Vallarino is a drag on his Karma. They are obviously putting as much pressure on him as they can to get him to resign his post. Bosco seems like he wants to hang in there for awhile longer, and the statement by Varela that he would be meeting with Vallarino to "decide the situation" is telling. Varela is also the President of the Panameñista political party and the already anointed candidate - designated to take over for Martinelli in 2014. They are probably thinking that Varela's chances are pretty much toast if everyone has to spend the next four years watching Bosco make more mistakes and draw more ire. They've already offered Bosco a position as an Ambassador somewhere - which he has refused. Now I suspect they will both sweeten the pot with one hand while simultaneously turning the screws with the other, to get him to resign. Meaning, they probably already have enough stuff on him to force him out with a criminal investigation or something if necessary, but they would rather avoid the bloodbath and just have him quit and go away. Either way, I think he's done. Alas, poor Bosco, I knew him well...   

Yesterday Panama's Minister of Agricultural Development, Victor Perez, resigned. Perez will be replaced by engineer, cattleman, and rice producer Emilio Keiswetter, who until yesterday was an agricultural affairs adviser to the Ministry of the Presidency, and the President of the Association of Rice Producers of Chiriquí. Perez will step down after facing sharp criticism for a trip he took to Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia, together with 14 other people, at a cost of $130,000 in airline tickets alone, money which was paid to a family member of Herman Gnaeggi, a director of the Ministry of Agricultural Development. Perez, according to complaints lodged by many unions of agricultural producers in the country, didn't have any significant projects under his administration in office.

OTHER CHANGES - This is the first concrete change that has been announced for Ricardo Martinelli's Cabinet. However, a senior source in the Presidency said Martinelli would be announcing more changes on Friday, 2 July 2010. The first is Franklin Kwai Ben, who will replace Diana Arauz as the Director of the Association of Aquatic Resources of Panama (ARAP). Arauz was dismissed less than a week ago, a day after this newspaper (La Prensa) published a report - on the alleged irregular dealings of this entity - realized by Kriss Proveda, the former National Director of Inspection, Supervision and Control of ARAP. Kwai Ben is a biologist by profession and head of the company Cultipac. It is dedicated to shrimp farming. According to source in the Presidency, Martinelli will also dismiss the governor of the province of Chiriqui, Enrique Fernández of the Panameñista political party. To replace him Martinelli will designate Aixa Santamaria, currently the Vice Governor of the province. Santamaria is the former manager of the Super 99 supermarkets, (a company owned by Martinelli) in the province of Chiriqui and is a registered member of the Democratic Change political party. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Martinelli has been promising there would be changes in his cabinet since January. Tomorrow, on 1 July 2010, his administration reaches their first anniversary. Martinelli has been saying for days that there will be changes in his cabinet and that some people who simply have not been working out will be replaced. Again, another example of Martinelli running the country like a business. If a Minister or an Administrator of an entity like the ARAP or a Governor of a province is not doing the right thing - then "you're fired." Annual performance review. Healthy turnover can be a good thing. Fresh blood, and it keeps everyone else on their toes.   

It's been confirmed. There will be changes in the President's Executive Cabinet as of this Thursday, 1 July 2010. Some ministers, heads of autonomous bodies and governors are not meeting Martinelli's expectations, he said during an interview with La Prensa as he takes stock of his first year in office. "I'm going to ask them to resign, and we're going to have some changes," said Martinelli about the impending changes, but he declined to name names. During the interview he also talked about the controversial decisions taken by his government. "I accept the criticism and I think they're absolutely right. I agree this was not the best manner," he said, in referring to questions about the way the controversial Law 30 (a.k.a. "9 in 1" law) was adopted. Martinelli also talked about the justice system, insecurity in the country, his achievements, his relationship with is cousin who is in prison in Mexico, and the "short circuits" with the civil society. (La Prensa)   

The constant criticism of the administration of Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino, due to the mistakes he has committed, have caused Vice President and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela to distance himself from Bosco faced with the rejection evidenced in the polls. Bosco's latest scandal are payments of more than $900,000 for image consultants, which caused Varela, who is also the President of the Panameñista political party, to criticize these unnecessary contracts, especially at a time when Panama City is having a difficult time with finances. Varela urged Vallarino to change the course of Panama City and to work in a more austere manner. This apparent gap between Bosco and Varela and means, according to political analyst Renato Pereira, 'the beginning of the end of Bosco's political future." But Eduardo Quiros, who is also a member of the same Panameñista political party with Varela and Vallarino, said the leadership of the party should pay more attention to what's going on in City Hall. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: This week a news story broke saying Bosco Vallarino has paid more than $900,000 dollars through a dozen contracts to several companies for "image consulting." That might be the one that gets him removed from office. Bosco Vallarino has about a 4% approval rating in the polls.   

While the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) tries to play the role of "opposition" to the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, internal to the party some of the most recognizable PRD politicians are at war with one another, trading accusations and counter accusations. Yesterday lawyer Luis Carlos Cabezas, the leader of the defense team of former president Ernesto Perez Balladares, said they suspect the complaints and everything that has happened to Perez Balladares stems from information provided by another former president, Martin Torrijos. Perez Balladares' lawyer became suspicious once it became known the order given to the Financial Investigation Unit to investigate the bank accounts controlled by Perez Balladares came during the previous administration of Martin Torrijos, and not during the current administration of Ricardo Martinelli. 'There is a statement where someone said the UAF investigation started during the Torrijos administration," said Cabezas, while denouncing his rejection of the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime, José Ayú Prado, for taking the statement of Amado Barahona, who was the director of the UAF when the investigation against Perez Balladares started.

In recent days Balbina Herrera launched a series of accusations against Torrijos, accusing him and the former Minister of the Presidency, Ubaldino Real, of having diverted $4.5 million dollars to the presidential campaign of Ricardo Martinelli.

Valdes vs. City Council: The war of accusations between senior PRD members does not end with Perez Balladares and his suspicions of Martin Torrijos. Starting this week, the PRD Mayor of San Miguelito, Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla, accused Balbina Herrera of starting a smear campaign against him. During a press conference Carrasquilla accused Representatives Enrique Plata and Norman De Gracia, as well as National Assembly Deputy Raúl Pineda, of conspiring together against him. "They want to cut our head off, for us to be disabled, and to create a public perception that the Mayor is corrupt," said Carrasquilla. Carrasquilla's statements came after he was accused of having embezzled $200,000, while at the same time he denied having received the same amount of money from Martin Torrijos.

Herrera regretted the charges and denied that she was leading a campaign of persecution and disgrace, as charged by Carrasquilla. Balbina recommended that Carrasquilla should hire some good lawyers, and said she understands what he is going through. The only one who acted surprised by the statements made by Carrasquilla was National Assembly Deputy Raúl Pineda, who even tried to call him, but as of yesterday afternoon was unable to get through to him. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: The PRD is melting down from the inside out. There is more than enough corruption to go around for these guys. Apparently, the strategy is for them to eat their young. Martin Torrijos handed Perez Balladares to Ricardo Martinelli, so now maybe Martinelli won't go after Torrijos so hard later. The PRD is basically divided into two camps with Torrijos on one side and Perez Balladares on the other. Balbina Herrera came over to the Torrijos camp for awhile, but now she is back over on the other side. Carrasquilla is just a pawn that's getting knocked off of the board.   

There is unrest among the representatives in the district of San Miguelito. They feel Mayor Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla is negatively affecting the image of the municipality. They made their feelings clear during a meeting of the Municipal Council of San Miguelito yesterday, where the majority of the representatives are from the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the same party as Mayor Carrasquilla. One of them, Daniel Moreno, the representative from the area of Arnulfo Arias and also a PRD party member, said they have to respond to the audits conducted by the Comptroller's office, and he puts the blame on Mayor Valdés Carrasquilla. "The mayor is tarnishing the image of the district, and each of us. I think we should ask for his separation," he said. Cecilio Ruiz, the representative of the area of Rufina Alfaro and the President of the Municipal Council, said he is definitely concerned over the money that was stolen, which could have been invested in projects throughout the district. "In order to bring immediate solutions to the townships, we need these funds. He must give his explanation to justice," he said.

It appears the request to separate Valdés Carrasquilla from his position as the Mayor of San Miguelito will take place today, after he is interrogated by the Second Anti Corruption Prosecutor. The City Council of San Miguelito consists of seven representatives of the PRD and two from the Democratic Change political party. However, only one of the nine representatives was present to support Valdés Carrasquilla during a recent press conference - Roberto Butcher, the PRD representative from the area of Mateo Iturralde.

While the City Council conducted its regular Tuesday session yesterday, Mayor Valdés Carrasquilla spoke to reporters about the allegations being made against him. Although he did not present any documentation, the former boxer said in his defense he obtained two personal loans in 2004 and 2010 to economically support the residents of San Miguelito. "I asked for $20,000 from the Banco General at that time, and I also asked for $30,000 dollars from Financredit in the earlier period. A lot of that money I shared with my people in San Miguelito," he said, to defend himself against allegations made by former City Treasurer Fernando Hernandez, who accused Valdés Carrasquilla of spreading between $2,000 to $2,500 dollars from the municipal coffers every week, giving the money to residents and political supporters in San Miguelito. On the other hand, Valdés Carrasquilla blamed everything that is happening now on former presidential candidate Balbina Herrera, despite the fact that the reports and audits from the office of the Comptroller and from the Court of Auditors identify him as the primary person responsible for the loss of the money. In addition, Valdés Carrasquilla did not respond when asked if he had received $150,000 from former President Martin Torrijos to replace the missing money that was supposedly taken from the City's coffers, as alleged by the former City Treasurer. "I am innocent, and I never counted money in my mother's house," the mayor said.

Meanwhile, Balbina Herrera said on the Channel 13 news broadcast that Carrasquilla should not try to divert attention and he should focus on putting together a good defense. Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi said he expects Mayor Valdés Carrasquilla will appear before the prosecutor today to be interrogated in the case. He has been duly summoned. Every person who has been summoned by the judicial system has the duty to appear," said Bonissi. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Balbina Herrera started her political career as the Mayor of San Miguelito, where she served two terms (ten years.) She was then elected as San Miguelito's representative to the National Assembly where she served another two terms (ten years.) In 2004 she rode the coattails of Martin Torrijos to become first the Minister of Housing (MIVI), and she resigned from that position to run as the PRD's candidate in the presidential elections of 2009 - which she lost to Ricardo Martinelli. All of that means that as of May 2009, Balbina Herrera found herself politically defeated for the first time, and out of government office for the first time since 1984. She spent about six months in denial, and now she is apparently returning to her roots. I don't know exactly how, but in some way it will benefit her politically to have this PRD Mayor Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla removed from office. She knew all about the money he was skimming from petty cash because she did the exact same thing herself for more than a decade. Former City Treasurer Fernando Hernandez, who started the whole investigation with his allegations, probably has political ties or allegiance to Balbina Herrera. This morning Mayor Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla said he knows Balbina Herrera is behind all of this, and he's probably right. He almost certainly took the money, but considering that the City Council was dominated by the PRD with seven out of nine seats, in his brain he probably thought he would be allowed to continue to get away with it. He never expected what happened - Balbina Herrera needs a job, and she is returning to her roots, her political base in San Miguelito, in an attempt to haul her scorched political career from the ashes. Mayor Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla is her first victim on the comeback trail.   

Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino said he is often the victim of "friendly fire" (attacks) by members of the Democratic Change political party. "There is both enemy and friendly fire, and these are the people who are paying the different newspapers so that unflattering political cartoons appear, 90% of which are untrue," he said. Vallarino made his statements on the "Face to Face" television program on Channel 4, where he said "when the same kind of political cartoon appears in three newspapers on the same day, one can say that the journalists are not all thinking the same thing, this is bought and paid for." He said there are people who "reach the ear of the President and start to cause harm, to sow discord" as in what happened with the trash problem. He warned the people behind this "friendly fire" would rather have his running mate as the Mayor and not him. "That's why I prefer a communication without intermediaries, to play pitcher and catcher with the President," he said. He said he would remain in office during his entire term in office, and they he would not accept any potential posting to an embassy. He noted his administration has been the subject of several audits and none have found nothing irregular.

In this regard, the a leader in the Democratic Change political party and Vice Minister of Commerce Ricardo Quijano said the public is receiving a "poor job, not what they were expecting" from the Mayor of Panama. In his view, regardless of the support and endorsement they give Vallarino as the Mayor, the Government has had to take the decision to establish a new Authority of Cleanliness to resolve the problem of garbage. "This is where (Bosco) is making a mistake. Friendly fire or enemy fire, the point is that there exists a job that has to be done and a duty that he should have completed, and the excuses they made in order to make themselves look good," he added. He noted that when the Ministry of the Presidency supported the collection of garbage, it was done right. "What we can not support is inefficiency, nor the placement of personal interests above those of the people," he said. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Poor Bosco. He's literally caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side the majority of the positions in the Municipality of Panama are held by PRD loyalists, who throw banana peels under his feet at every opportunity. On the other side Ricardo Martinelli's Cambio Democratico party don't like him - they see him as inefficient and ineffective. To be fair, it would be hard for anyone to function as an effective or efficient Mayor under those circumstances. Bosco has turned into a favorite punching bag for everyone. It must suck to be him right now.   

PRD politician Quibián Panay, who serves on the Municipal City Council as the Representative for the District 8-9 which includes the areas of Las Cumbres and Alcalde Díaz, said on the morning news broadcast today that in his opinion there are "economic interests" at play in the issue of garbage collection in Panama City, and he does not think the central government of Ricardo Martinelli should take the responsibility for garbage collection away from the Municipality, although he did admit there are serious problems. Panay said "it is not throwing in the towel for Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino and taking over the problem for him, there are other interests at play in this issue." He said the central government should decide if it wants a decentralized system or a more centralized system of government, and that they are taking capacity and competence away from the municipal government. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: And, the PRD squeals. Even though Bosco Vallarino won the election and he is the Mayor of Panama City, the PRD retained control of the Municipal City Council with a majority of elected representatives. And, because PRD politician Juan Carlos Navarro was the Mayor of Panama City for ten years (from 1999 - 2009) the administrative ranks of city hall are jammed packed with PRD loyalists. Garbage collection has traditionally been one of the most corrupt areas of municipal government in Panama City, a virtual "cash cow" that has been giving milk in any number of forms for decades. Now, with the PRD in charge of part of the government and Bosco in charge of the other, the entire decades old system of graft and corruption has fallen apart, and the end result has been streets piled high with trash and garbage. The municipal government hit a log jam, so Ricardo Martinelli simply stepped in to take over. Now, the PRD guys are crying because - well - there goes the money. Balbina Herrera also came out bitching this morning - another sign that Martinelli is making exactly the right move. It is absolutely amazing to see these PRD guys saying "there are economic interests at play" as if they are trying to say that now Ricardo Martinelli wants to take over so he can steal the money (like they have been doing for years.) Critics will say this is another "power grab" by Martinelli, but no one ever thinks of garbage collection as a source of political power. Whatever. I see this as just one more step in the slow but sure transformation of this country. These little micro-centers of corruption are being broken apart and swept away, one at a time. Finally...   

Panama's former Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez said it is sad that at this point the government of Ricardo Martinelli has not been able to establish with certainty who leaked information to the online newspaper "El Pais.cr" in Costa Rica. "It's sad when a minister of the State makes it clear that our intelligence system is so precarious," she said. Gomez denounced that her telephone conversations are being monitored, "so they know who I meet and what I do," she said, and she said she has enough information to know what's going on, and that it is the President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, who said he manages enough information to know that it is so, and that if the president, Ricardo Martinelli wants to talk about it, he can explain. Gomez told Telemetro Reporta that she has never released information from the Public Ministry, not even to defend herself. Gomez's statements came as a result of concerns raised by the Minister of Labor, Alma Cortes, on the program "Face to Face" where she said that some of the information used in the articles in El Pais.cr was provided by officials from the Public Ministry. "I am willing to testify, submit to and scrutiny that is necessary and even undergo a polygraph examination if they want," said Gomez, but not before complaining that the charges are only part of the repressive system that seeks to pollute public opinion her through a strategy of poisoning, so that on the day when they decide to condemn her the people will say that it is well deserved. She asked "they should look behind this, and why a State and a system that has all of the power that is being used against one of its most defenseless citizens in these moments, which is me," Gomez said. "I have no diplomatic ties, do not belong to an economically powerful family, nor have I fought for any political party, so nobody will come to defend me," she said. (Panama America)   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - A rambling interview with the Minister of the Presidency Jimmy Papadimitriu appeared in La Prensa this morning. Journalist Flor Mizrachi Angel asked if it was true that Martinelli actually intends to hand the baton to Vice President Juan Carlos Varela in 2014, and Papadimitriu responded "Martinelli promised that Juan Carlos (Varela) would be the candidate." Of course that makes perfect sense, when taken in context of the strategic alliance struck between Ricardo Martinelli and the Cambio Democratico political party and the President of the Panameñista political party Juan Carlos Varela back in December 2008, leading up to the elections of May 2009. In that deal Juan Carlos Varela would do five years as Vice President, and then get "bumped up" to run as the primary candidate (with no other third party candidate running against him) in 2014. The "grand opposition alliance" would remain intact. Juan Carlos Varela will be able to ride the wave of successes into the May 2014 elections. The PRD, or those who are not in prison on corruption charges anyway, will mount some kind of a weak challenge, and they will get their asses handed to them. I suspect former Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro, who ran on Balbina Herrera's ticket as a Vice Presidential candidate, will lead the charge for the PRD. But, that's still a long ways away and who knows whats going to happen to the PRD between here and there. But, it now seems clear what's going to occur the camp of the "locos" - Juan Carlos Varela in 2014. There were other things in the interview, but none as important as this.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.    

President Ricardo Martinelli said today he would ask for the resignation of Ministry and Government and Justice advisor Eduardo "Rumba" Alfaro. The President did not elaborate on the changes that would take place shortly according to TVN Noticias. Martinelli was asked today by journalists who inquired about changes in his Cabinet, which are expected in July, when the current government administration reaches one year in office. Alfaro has been the target of complaints recently made public by National Assembly Deputy Marcos Gonzalez. According to the Deputy there are serious "irregularities" in the Ministry of Government and Justice, because their advisors meet with drug traffickers and provide special treatment to detainees. In this case, Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi announced he would open an official investigation. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: I have a question. If the president tells reporters he would ask for someone's resignation, doesn't that kinda imply that he already did? I mean, I don't know exactly what's going on with this whole conflict between Gonzalez and Mulino, but apparently Martinelli has seen enough of Alfaro, in any case. Alfaro was the guy who was in the photos meeting with drug traffickers in the La Joya prison. When Gonzalez's son complained, he was fired. Gonzalez then went public with the photos and made the fight public. Martinelli then threatened to kick Deputy Gonzalez out of the Cambio Democratico political party. Mulino and other ministers "closed ranks" in support of Alfaro's actions, but apparently that wasn't enough to save his job. I tell you, politicians are more fun to watch than a tank full of fish - just don't tap on the glass too hard...   

National Assembly Deputies from the Cambio Democratico (CD) political party elected Deputy José Muñoz as the new President of the National Assembly and Fernando Carrillo as head of the collective bloc for the next term, which will begin on 1 July 2010. Panama America learned that as part of his nomination, Deputy Manuel Cohen from the Panameñista party and Dana Castañeda from the Unión Patriótica party will accompany him as Vice Presidents of the National Assembly. On another matter, Deputy Mario Miller called the warning given by Ricardo Martinelli to his colleague Marcos González a "wake-up call that a father makes to a son." "There are no problems between Marcos and the President, this should be clear, as in any family the dirty laundry is washed at home," said the Vice President of the CD. He said that it is "a personal situation" that occurred between Gonzalez and Minister Jose Mulino. (Panama America)   

Escoffery Francisco's resignation from his post as the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Development, leaves in limbo the forum created in 2006. Although Escoffery claimed his resignation was due to "personal reasons" in the letter of resignation he sent to president, Ricardo Martinelli, members of the coalition say his departure is actually due to lack of support from the current administration. Anibal Culiolis, the representative of the Partido Popular in this forum, said Escoffery "did not see, did not feel, and did not perceive the support of the president of the Coalition and Vice Minister of the Presidency, Maria Fabrega." This situation, he added Culiolis, "puts this forum in a coma, mortally wounded." The truth is that Escoffery's exit comes after his failed attempt to open an office to install the Administrative Technical Secretariat - and after describing the problems he's been having - on 30 April before the members of the Coalition - on his failed negotiations with the Executive. Among these, a request made on March 8 to the administrative head of the Ministry of the Presidency, Carlos Orillac to publish the profiles of staff required for the Technical Secretariat, sustained Law 25 of 2008 which adopted the Verification and Monitoring Mechanism of coalition agreements. Vice Minister of the Presidency, Maria Fabrega, accepted the resignation. (La Prensa)   

Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli on Wednesday denied having received a donation of $4.5 million dollars from members of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, as reported last Monday by former presidential candidate Balbina Herrera. "I want to tell my dear friend Balbina Herrera that they have not given be a nickel, I'm waiting for the money, and I'm hoping that they give it to me because I still have not finished paying for the debts from my campaign," said Martinelli. Herrera, who ran for the PRD as Martinelli's opponent in the presidential race during the last elections of May 3, 2009, said members from her party linked to the management of campaign funds for her campaign "diverted" $4.5 million dollars to support Martinelli's campaign, representing an alliance led by the Democratic Change Party, and she mentioned names like Martin Torrijos, former president of Panama, and Ubaldino Real. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: Is Balbina Herrera taking a page from the David Murcia playbook? I knew early on that Murcia had never made a donation to Balbina Herrera, but he said he did just because he wanted to screw the PRD over. He knew the accusation would be enough to guarantee she would lose the election, and he was pissed at the way he was arrested in Panama and extradited to Colombia although there is no extradition treaty between Panama and Colombia. Balbina might be thinking that just making the accusation could be enough.   

It appears former Panamanian president Martin Torrijos, has preferred to remain silent regarding the accusations made by former PRD presidential candidate Balbina Herrera, who accused him of having given $4.5 million dollars during the campaign to her opponent Ricardo Martinelli. In principle, people close to the former president told La Estrella yesterday that he was preparing a statement on the issue, but later we were informed there would be no such pronouncement. Was this a change of strategy, or something else? Balbina Herrera continued to make accusations in visits to various news and media outlets, which disturbed fellow party members such as Pedro Miguel Gonzalez, who urged her to "rectify" her position, because in his opinion she is damaging the restructuring they are working towards internal to the PRD. On the side of the Democratic Change, the party's General Secretary Alma Cortez said she regretted Herrera's statements, and said they have already reported to the Electoral Tribunal how they used their funds. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: This is sounding more like a maneuver by Balbina Herrera to reclaim some kind of position internal to the PRD. She's been a black sheep ever since she got trounced in May 2009, and now she's trying to blame Martin Torrijos for her defeat. At first blush it sounded nuts, however once Ricardo Martinelli's Cambio Democratico entered into an alliance with the Panameñista party in late December 2008 and early January 2009, it became readily apparently to practically everyone that Balbina Herrera no longer stood a chance - a fact which played out both in the polls leading up to the election and then during the election itself. And, until now it has been a mystery to me why Ricardo Martinelli has had several PRD members in key positions. Is there some kind of chance that Martin Torrijos actually did give a bunch of money to Martinelli at the last minute, as a way of saying "screw Balbina, let's work together..." Hey, stranger things have happened. In any case, the accusations being made by Balbina Herrera are the political talk of the town today.   

Rather than becoming more clear, the situation internal to the PRD political party is more confusing every day. The tenuous peace between senior party figures after the elections last May now seem like an old torn rag shaken by the wind. The trigger this time was pile of overdue accounts and bills that have to be paid that is becoming more complex. Sources told La Estrella of $4 million dollars in outstanding bills and accounts that have to be paid, and they say Balbina Herrera passed these bills to the party after her resounding defeat a year ago.

But the former presidential candidate identified two high ranking government figures from the previous administration as those who are responsible: Martín Torrijos and Ubaldino Real, who "were the chiefs of campaign fundraising." Herrera decided to come to the offices of La Estrella to explain that she only knows of $1.4 million dollars in outstanding bills, "which have been reported to the Electoral Tribunal, so everyone knows," she said. But Herrera went even further and revealed information that would be unprecedented in the PRD. "Ask Martin and Ubaldino why they gave $4.5 million dollars to Martinelli," she said. Balbina also said there are people in her party who became millionaires in the last five years. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: Balbina Herrera is running around telling anyone who will listen that Martin Torrijos and the PRD gave Ricardo Martinelli $4.5 million dollars to help him beat her in the election. It is my own personal opinion that she has lost touch with reality. The PRD giving money to the other candidate to help ensure the defeat of their own candidate? Sorry, but that just sounds nuts on the surface of it. This story has been picked up by every major news outlet in Panama, so it's the rumor of the day.   

According to a report by the Electoral Tribunal, Balbina Herrera Arauz spent more than $5 million dollars during the presidential campaign last year. Days after the election, she arrived at the headquarters of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) with a mountain of paperwork, invoices and other documents. "These are the debts from the campaign, $4 million dollars is owed and I'm not going to pay it, the party should pay," said Herrera, according to witnesses who were there.

Today, the economic drag of an unsuccessful campaign seems to taxing the interests of the largest political party in the country, which also receives the largest piece of the so-called post election grant, estimated at more than six million dollars for the next five years. PRD general secretary, Mitchel Doens, recognizes that there are debts, although he says it is nothing to prevent the implementation of scheduled activities, including the election of new party leaders which was to be held in October of this year, but has been postponed to early 2011.

The delay will allow time for the approval of amendments to the statutes and then in August or September of next year, the PRD will proceed with the election of party officials. However, the situation is not all roses, and it has begun to worry those who have aspirations to lead the party, and even those who would like to be the party's presidential candidate in the elections of 2014. Further, another fear internal to the party are the defection of their members for the tents of the opposition. (La Estrella)   

The Panameñista political party is getting more members, this time from their arch rival. Forty members of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), including party founders, party delegates, and community leaders, made the jump yesterday. Among the new Panameñistas are Ciro Pérez, a PRD party founder, and José González, who served as the party delegate for the area of Tocumen. Both belong to the 8-10 circuit, where lawmaker Alcibiades Vasquez is currently the Vice President of the Panameñista party.

Perez justified his decision by pointing to the crisis currently engulfing the PRD party. "The PRD is tumbling, the group's organization has not yet hit rock bottom, and now I no longer care," he said. He also clarified his decision to jump from one political party to another is not tied to a promise of "perks ... nothing," and his only goal is to support he work being carried out by the Panameñista lawmaker. He went even further to say that his registration in the Panameñista party is just a harbinger for things to come, because in the coming weeks other PRD party members will also make the switch.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, said he decided to change political parties after many meetings and consultations with his backers, and he also said he decided to make the change due to the problems within the PRD.

Alcibiades Vásquez said there is no "political patronage" associated with the arrival of the former PRD party members, and that they will be treated the same as any other member of the Panameñista party.

What is happening right now to the PRD also happened last Sunday, when members of the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (Molirena) from the 8-9 circuit changed their allegiance to the Panameñista party at a time when the Molirena is in the process of merging with the Democratic Change party. In total, 1,935 people in Chilibre, Alcalde Díaz and Las Cumbres, among them party leaders and party delegates, left the Molirena party to welcome the philosophy of Arnulfo Arias and the protection of St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of party. "This is because Molirena has historically been an ally of the Panamanian Party, Vasquez added. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: The PRD is basically toast at this point, and they have a long and hard uphill struggle between now and May 2014 to try to make any kind of a legitimate run towards trying to regain political power in Panama. Molirena is going away, with their members switching to either the Panameñista political party or Ricardo Martinelli's Cambio Democratico. If the Panameñistas and Cambio Democratico can maintain their alliance, they could probably rule this country for 50 years. However, history says their alliance falls apart for the 2014 election, they split the vote, and the PRD steps in (once again) to take advantage of the infighting. That's exactly what happened in the 1994 and 2004 elections. Let's see if this pattern repeats every ten years, or if 2014 will break the cycle.   

President Ricardo Martinelli now has an 80% approval rating among the Panamanian population. The poll conducted by the company Dichter & Neira poll for April 2010 indicates the level of acceptance of the president surged 11 percentage points compared to the months of February and March 2010, when he scored a 69% approval rating compared to 78% in January. Political analysts agree the measures implemented by the government, such ad the distribution of school supplies, backpacks and bonds from the Ministry of Education were crucial to Martinelli's rise in the survey. Even it was even thought that in April the recently approved tax reforms might damage the president's popularity. However, those who are dropping in acceptance among the population are the Deputies of the National Assembly, and the rating has dropped more than 20 percentage points, down from 78% in October 2009 to 57.3% in April 2010. (La Estrella)