Panama a Country Study

[C-0061] area handbook series Panama a country study [1] [2] [3] [4] / Panama a country study Federal Research Division Library of Congress Edited by Sandra W . Meditz and Dennis M. Hanratty Research Completed December 1987 [5] C' ; On the cover : Cuna Indian mota design of a man gathering coconuts Fourth Edition, 1989; First Printin g, 1989. Copyright ~ 1 989 United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Panama: a country study. (Area handbook series) (DA Pam 550-46) Supt. of Docs . no.: D 101.22:550- 46/987 (( Research completed December 1987 " Bibliography: pp. 295-31 1. Includes index. 1. Panama. I. Meditz, Sandra W., 1950- . II. Hanratty, Dennis M., 1950- . III. Library of Congress. Federal R esearch Division. IV. Series. V. Series: DA Pam 550-46. Fl563.P323 1989 972.87 88-600486 Headquarters, Department of the Army DA Pam 550-46 For sale by the Sup<rin<endent of Documents, U.S. Government Prin<ing Office Wa,ltington, D.C. 20+02 [6] / Chapter 4. Government and Politics [7] Cuna Indian mola design of a winged figure [8] IN LATE 1987, PANA.TviA'S political system was unable to respond to the problems confronting the nation. Protests over the role in the government played by the Panama Defense Forces (Fuerzas de Defensa de Panama-FDP) and their commander, General Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno, had produced economic disruption and the appearance of political instability and had con tributed to serious strains in relations with the United States. With no immediate resolution of the conflict likely, Panama appeared to be in its most severe political crisis since the 1968 coup, which had made the military the dominant political force in the nation. The October 1968 coup marked the third time that the military had ousted Arnulfo Arias Madrid from the presidency of Panama. It differed from previous coups, however, in that it installed a mili tary regime that promoted a mixture of populist and nationalist policies, while at the same time assiduously courting international business. Led, until his death in 1981, by the charismatic General Omar Torrijos Herrera, the military used limited but effective repression to prevent civilian opposition groups from returning to power. Torrijos also created the Democratic Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Democratico-PRD), which became the official ruling party. The death of Torrijos, in an airplane crash on July 31, 1981, precipitated a prolonged struggle for power. In a little more than four years Panama had three FDP commanders and five civilian presidents. At the same time, both domestic and international pres sures for a return to civilian rule increased steadily. Constitutional revisions in 1983, followed by presidential and legislative elections in 1984, were supposed to promote this process. The elections, however, were tainted by widespread allegations of fraud. Whatever credibility the newly installed civilian government had was under mined further in September 1985, when President Nicolas Ardito Barletta Vallarino was fo rced out of office by General Noriega and the FDP. In the following two years, political tensions continued to increase, fueled by negative publicity abroad, by the murder of a prominent opposition political figure, Dr. H ugo Spadafora, by the open break between General Noriega and his most promi nent rival within the military, Colonel Roberto Dfaz Herrera, and by serious economic problems, notably a major international debt burden and major capital flight. 173 [9] Panama: A Country Study The era of military rule had not been without its positive accom plishments. Most notable was the successful negotiation of the 1977 Panama Canal treaties with the United States. These treaties, which went into effect on October 1, 1979, ended the separate territorial status ofthe Panama Canal Zone ·and provided for Panama's full control over all canal operations at the end of the century. Under the military, Panama also had emerged as a major international banking center, had become a more prominent actor in world affairs, exemplified by its position as one of the original "Core Four" mediators (along with Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia) in the Contadora negotiating process seeking to mediate the con flicts in Central America, and had implemented numerous social reforms, raising the standard of living for many of its citizens. In late 1987, however, many of these accomplishments appeared jeopardized by the continuing crisis in civil-military relations and the inability of the Panamanian government to maintain a peace ful evolution toward a more open, democratic political system. The Constitutional Framework In 1987 Panama was governed under the Constitution of 1972 as amended by the Reform Acts of 1978 and the Constitutional Act of 1983. This was Panama's fourth constitution, previous con stitutions having been adopted in 1904, 1941 , and 1946. The differ ences among these constitutions have been matters of emphasis and have reflected the political circumstances existing at the time of their formulation. The 1904 constitution, in Article 136, gave the United States the right to ''intervene in any part of Panama, to reestablish pub lic peace and constitutional order.'' Reflecting provisions of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, this confirmed Panama's status as a de facto protectorate of the United States (see The United States Protectorate, ch. 1). Article 136, along with other provisions of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, such as that giving the United States the right to add additional territory to the Canal Zone whenever it believed this was necessary for defensive purposes, rankled Panamanian nationalists for more than three decades. In 1939 the United States abrogated its right of intervention in internal Panamanian affairs with the ratification of the Hull-Alfaro Treaty. The 1941 constitution, enacted during Amulfo Arias's first, brief presidential term, not only ended Panama's constitutionally mandated protectorate status, but also reflected the president's peculiar political views (see The WarYears, ch. 1). Power was con centrated in the hands of the president, whose term, along with that of members of the legislature, was extended from four to six 174 [10] Government and Politics years. Citizenship requirements were added that discriminated against the nation's English-speaking black community and other non-Hispanic minorities (see Ethnic Groups, ch. 2). In October 1941, President Arias was deposed by the National Police (the predecessor of the National Guard and FDP), and the presidency was assumed by Ricardo Adolfo de Ia Guardia. In 1946 President de Ia Guardia promulgated a new constitution, which was basically a return to the 1904 document without the offensive Article 136. The 1946 constitution lasted for twenty-six years. Fol lowing the 1968 military coup, eleven constitutional guarantees, including freedom of speech, press, and travel, were suspended for several months, and some were not restored fully until after the adoption of the 1972 Constitution. The 1972 Constitution was promulgated by General Torrijos and reflected the dominance of the political system by the general and the military (see The Govern ment of Torrijos and the National Guard, ch. 1). Article 277 of the 1972 Constitution designated Torrijos as the ''Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution,'' granting him extraordinary powers for a period of six years, including the power to appoint most government officials and to direct foreign relations. On October 11 , 1978, this and other temporary provisions of the 1972 Constitution expired, and a series of amendments, ratified by the Torrijos-controlled National Assembly of Municipal Repre sentatives, became law. These amendments called for a gradual return to democratic political processes between 1978 and 1984 and were designed, in part, to assuage United States concerns over the undemocratic nature of the Panamanian political system (see Tor rijos Government Undertakes "Democratization," ch. 1). In 1983 a commission representing various political parties was created to amend further the Constitution in preparation for the 1984 elections. The sixteen-member commission changed nearly half of the Constitution's articles, producing several significant alterations. Article 2 had given the military a special political role, but all men tion of this was omitted in the revised draft. The legislature was also revamped. The National Legislative Council was eliminated, and the unwieldy, government-controlled National Assembly of Municipal Representatives, which had 505 representatives, one from each corregimiento (municipal subdistrict), became the Legislative Assembly, with 67 members apportioned on the basis of popula tion and directly elected. The independence of the judiciary and the Electoral Tribunal were strengthened, the term of the president was reduced to five years, and two vice presidents were to be elected. Guarantees of civil liberties were strengthened, and official support for candidates in elections was, at least in theory, severely restricted. 175 [11] Panama: A Country Study The amended Constitution contains 312 articles. Power emanates from the people and is exercised by the three branches of govern ment, each of which is "limited and separate," but all of which, in theory, work together in "harmonious collaboration." The national territory is defined as "the land area, the territorial sea, the submarine continental

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