Page 33 - Anatomy-of-a-Fraud

Finally, it has already been established that the PRD took its orders directly
from the General Staff. Its independence simply does not exist. As Torrijos once said,
“the National Guard is the military arm of the Revolution and PRD its political arm”.
In Panama, since 1968, the military arm has controlled all other national bodies.
Summing up, then: The General Staff of the Defense Forces imposed Barletta
as the PRD’s presidential candidate; this imposition was finally consummated at the
Tinajitas barracks. The UNADE was then set up, a coalition of six parties that, to a
greater or lesser degree, owe their existence to the Guard.

Barletta, described by his running mate Roderick Esquivel as a “Liberal”
(“He’s not a member of the PRD, much less a Torrijista”), finally signed up with the
PRD and indulged during the campaign in numerous professions of his newly acquired
Torrijista faith. The candidacy was well worth that! The PRD, in turn, flooded the
country with ads showing him next to Torrijos and proclaiming him as Torrijos spiritual
son. This did not prevent Barletta, however, from assuming “Liberal” positions,
depending on the audience he happened to be addressing at a given time. This
versatility of principle was, to be sure, another of the traits that earned him the support
of the General Staff.

D. A President’s Resignation

Panama enjoys the dubious distinction of having had a president of the republic
resign his office on account of a sore throat, the so-called gargantazo Aristides Royo
suffered on July 31, 1982, while a second one simply turned in his resignation in a terse
32-word letter, the so-called manotazo administered to Ricardo de la Espriella on
February 13, 1984.

It is evident that the General Staff was behind both resignations. The presidents
had outlived their usefulness and were expendable.

When Royo was dropped, the people were relieved at the news of his sudden
and unbelievable ailment. Perhaps their relief reflected Royo’s arrogance and
haughtiness, clearly evidenced in his handling of the teachers strike; or his periodical
flirtations with the left; or the truly shameful number of financial scandals that broke
out during his administration. The truth is that he left the national stage unlamented
and headed for gilded exile in the Madrid embassy.

De la Espriella, on the other hand, during the few months that he was in
power, managed the country in a more creditable fashion. He controlled public
expenditures (actually, there was not all that much left to spend), sold debt-ridden state
investments and appointed technocrats and decent people to some ministries and
important bodies. However, he did not go far enough in creating the essential
conditions for bringing democracy back to the country. For instance, although he and