Currently, at the highest level, judicial decisions in Panama are under significant pressure from various interests, including cases involving radars to detect drug traffickers, "white-collar money laundering," and even rulings from the Electoral Tribunal to elect a presidential candidate. Undoubtedly, the exercise of law for the people's benefit is at stake in Panama.
Ángela Russo, Elected Ombudsman.
By Alberto Velásquez
Journalist and Public Relations Specialist
With the recent election of a new "Ombudsman," it becomes clear that politicians and circles of power have a remarkable ability to exploit and discard projects that were originally intended to be "in good faith" for the benefit of Panamanian society.
The same pattern has repeated in the Ombudsman's Office, similar to the program for justices of the peace, which has been reduced to a minimum. This can even be compared to Pandora's Box, revealed after the recent major fire under the Bridge of the Americas, adjacent to the Panama Canal.
The Ombudsman's Office, born from a noble international experience, was particularly promoted by its first representatives since 1997, by jurists Ítalo Antinori Bolaños and Juan Antonio Tejada until 2006, when the political and bureaucratic advantage of appointing an Ombudsman was discovered. One such appointee, Liborio García, had to be removed not only for poor performance but also for a conflict of interest due to his failure to formally resign from the anonymous corporations he belonged to.
Other Ombudsmen were colorless until Patria Portugal arrived amidst great fanfare. She was impeached for embezzlement while holding the public office linked to citizen protection.
An Ombudsman was removed due to sexual harassment allegations.
Political "wheeling and dealing" propelled her, and the woman is about to take office.
As a prominent member of the national forum commented, "From among thousands of lawyers in the country, many of them in poverty, an Ombudsman was chosen—a figure whose seat in the Supreme Court is still warm, as if there were no other lawyers in the country."
This outcome in the selection of a new Ombudswoman does not bode well for what we once called the "Ombudsman."
The most recent head of the office did everything possible to be re-elected, ignoring the strong interests backing a particular candidate.
