Page 106 - Anatomy-of-a-Fraud

Likewise, if Barletta were included in that exalted and hypothetical list of most
honest Panamanian public figures –which he crashed during the CADE-84 debates– he
would undoubtedly have made some substantive effort to refute the many charges of
fraud. He could, for instance, have followed the suggestion made by La Prensa in an
editorial dated May 17, 1984: “… what had to be done so that electoral results would
have credibility was to examine each and every one for the contended precinct tally
sheets…”. But he chose to hide behind presidential credentials to which he was not
entitled and has left it up to time to cover the truth of the fraud.

But the fraud was so patent and so wide and so vocal was domestic and
international reaction, that it is unlikely that the crime will be forgotten. We have
already presented evidence corroborating the fraud. Let us turn our attention now to
the general repudiation which greeted the fraud and the mockery of democratic
institutions it entailed.

B. “Votos, sí; fraude, no”

On the national level, reaction to the fraud was expressed in many different
ways, ranging from the thousands of ADO supporters who for 24 consecutive days
paraded down Central Avenue shouting “votos, sí; fraude, no”, to the sober and yet not
less energic protest of the Panamanian bishops.

On several occasions we have referred to the Statement of the Panamanian
Bishops Conference on the Electoral Process. However, we did not make any direct
comments as to its exceptional value as an objective and impartial testimony on the
central topic of this book. The time has now come to discard this reticence.

It would be difficult to find an institution less interested in the victory, or the
defeat, of either candidate. Its pronouncements merit, therefore, all credibility; the
Church only has the common good as a goal. On the other hand, only the Defense
Forces, with barracks in the major population centers of the country, can rival the
Catholic Church’s direct contact with the people. The Church, indeed, has a more
intimate physical presence than the Guard throughout the county. It follows from this
that the Church has first-hand information on what happens almost anywhere in the
country. Furthermore, this information is fully reliable because it comes from its own
sources. These factors, coupled with the number and the unquestioned objectivity of its
sources, make the Church an authoritative voice. And what did the Catholic Church
have to say about the electoral process?