DOCSLIB.ORG

We Are a People of Stone and Mud: Nationalism, Development, and Nature in Panama's Darién, 1968-1980

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
We Are a People of Stone and Mud: Nationalism, Development, and Nature in Panama's Darién, 1968-1980 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of ______________________________________________________ candidate for the ________________________________degree *. (signed)_______________________________________________ (chair of the committee) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) _______________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ii Abstract iii Introduction 1 Nationalism & Developmentalism in Panama 8 Developing the Darién 18 Conclusion 42 Appendix 45 Bibliography 52 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Torrijos in the Bayano River 45 Figure 2 Bayano Cement Company 45 Figure 3 “Symbol of Energy Liberation” 46 Figure 4 Darién Gap Highway 46 Figure 5 ¿Qué es la Erosión? 47 Graph 1 Panamanian and Latin American Public Borrowing, 1970-88 48 Graph 2 Average Annual Public Investment, Panama, 1950-74 49 Graph 3 External Public Debt, Panama, 1968-1983 49 Map 1 Highway Network, Panama, 2010 50 Map 2 Panama in Relation to Northeastern United States 51 ii We are a People of Stone and Mud: Nationalism, Development, and Nature in Panama’s Darién, 1968-1980 Abstract by ANTHONY W. ANDERSSON From the founding of its Republic in 1903, Panama has struggled for economic and political independence from the United States. After World War II, and especially under General Omar Torrijos, Panamanian nationalists looked to their neglected hinterlands for the human and natural resources that could power an independent nation. The Darién region in eastern Panama, a large and unknown tract of rain forest, became the object of a series of economic development projects that tried to put nature to work for the nation. Exploring the two largest of these projects, the Bayano Hydroelectric Dam and the Darién Gap Highway, this essay argues that nationalists in Panama, and their international benefactors, misperceived the environment they were working to “develop.” The collision of the environment that nationalists envisioned with the environment in reality crippled the projects themselves, and led to the creation of a new landscape that no one had planned for. iii INTRODUCTION On March 16, 1976, government officials, diplomats, and more than a few curious children watched as Panama’s dictator, General Omar Torrijos, ran fully clothed into the rising waters of the Bayano River moments after the gates closed inside the hulking new dam that straddled its banks. (See Figure 1) Torrijos’ stunt, broadcast by major television networks and published on the front pages of newspapers, celebrated more than the completion of the dam itself. The iconic image of the General splashing through the water hand-in-hand with a group of local children symbolized the importance that the dam held for a country which was mortgaging its future on such development projects in order, as Torrijos put it, to “turn a caricature of a country into a nation.”1 This essay will explore the dialectical relationship between nationalism and the natural environment through the case of the Darién in eastern Panama, especially the years during which Torrijos and his particular brand of nationalism ruled the country. Looking primarily at two major projects enacted under Torrijos, the Bayano Hydroelectric Complex and the Darién Gap Highway, I argue that nationalists in Panama and their international benefactors fundamentally misperceived the landscape they worked to “develop.” Their failure to understand the social and ecological environment of the Darién created problems for the projects themselves and did as much 1 Quote is from Walter LaFeber, The Panama Canal: The Crisis in Historical Perspective, Updated ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 188; Alaka Wali, Kilowatts and Crisis: Hydroelectric Power and Social Dislocation in Eastern Panama, Development, conflict, and social change series (Boulder: Westview Press, 1989), 1-2. 1 harm as benefit to the people who lived there. Ultimately, the resistance of the landscape to attempts at controlling it forced a change in nationalists’ development vision, though the landscape itself was also changed in the process. The encounter of nationalist ideology, nature, and people in the Darién produced a new landscape, though not the one nationalists had envisioned. From 1968 until 1980, Torrijos’ government tried to build a new Panamanian nation that would be politically and economically independent of the United States. The primary goal of this effort was the territorial and economic integration of the country, especially the repatriation of the U.S.- occupied Canal Zone that split the nation in two. Historians and partisans have spilled much ink over the battles to control Canal Zone.2 However, Panamanian efforts to extend economic and political control over the rest of the country as part of their nation-building project have drawn less attention. The massive development projects in eastern Panama have in particular escaped the gaze of historians. In the Darién, the Panamanian state, with the assistance of an array of international development agencies, launched an ambitious economic development campaign that radically transformed the landscape in an attempt to put nature to work for the nation. 2 Some representative titles include Michael L Conniff, Black Labor on a White Canal: Panama, 1904-1981, Pitt Latin American series (Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985); Carlos Guevara Mann, Panamanian Militarism: A Historical Interpretation (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1996); R. M Koster, In the Time of the Tyrants: Panama, 1968-1989 (New York: W.W. Norton, 1990); Steve C Ropp, Panamanian Politics: From Guarded Nation to National Guard (New York, N.Y: Praeger, 1982); Thomas E Weil, Panama: A Country Study, 3rd ed., Area handbook series (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1981); Walter LaFeber, The Panama Canal: The Crisis in Historical Perspective (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978); Peter Michael Sánchez, Panama Lost?: U.S. Hegemony, Democracy, and the Canal (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007). 2 The Panamanian Isthmus, from the mouth of the Bayano River to the Atrato Basin in Colombia, constitutes the Darién region. (See Map 1) It today comprises all of Darién Province, the two easternmost districts of Panama province, all or parts of several indigenous reservations, and the northwestern extremity of Colombia’s Chocó Department. The name Darién originally corresponded to the lands controlled by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in the early sixteenth century, which the Spanish demarcated as one of the three principle political divisions of Panama under colonial rule.3 Humans have occupied the area for at least 11,000 years, dramatically altering the environment by their presence, especially after the advent of settled agriculture some two thousand years ago.4 At the time of the Spaniards’ arrival in the Darién (their first encounter with mainland America) the area was home to around a half a million people. Its intensively cultivated valleys, cities, and network of roads carved through montane forests testified to the influence the native Cuevan civilization had on its environment.5 Following the extermination of the Cuevan people by Eurasian diseases, the forest quickly reclaimed the abandoned fields and homes. Freed from human controls, dense tropical vegetation choked off the terrestrial migration route that for millennia had connected the ecosystems of North and South 3 Carl Ortwin Sauer, The Early Spanish Main (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992), 238. This essay will limit its scope to only those parts of the Darién within the political boundaries of Panama, and exclude the San Blas Kuna reservation along the narrow Caribbean littoral, which is both culturally and ecologically distinct. 4 Charles Bennett, Human influences on the zoogeography of Panama (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968), 34. 5 Philip D. Young, “Guaymí Socionatural Adaptations,” in The Botany and Natural History of Panama (Saint Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden, 1985), 357-359; Sauer, The Early Spanish Main, 238-246; The estimates of pre-Colombian population in Panama is the subject of some debate. Bennett estimated the number at up to two million, but more likely around one million in Bennett, Human influences on the zoogeography of Panama; Omar Jaén Suárez has more recently put the number at between 225,000 and 400,000 in Omar Jaén Suárez, La Población del Istmo de Panamá (Panamá: Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, 1998), 43-44. 3 America.6 Since the Conquest, Europeans in Panama have largely ignored the Darién in favor of the transit corridor, the narrower part of the Isthmus in the center of the country, which facilitated the trade of silver and gold under the Spanish, and later the trade of agricultural commodities during the neocolonial era. The human population of the Darién never recovered, but the arrangement and composition of tree species in its forests still hint at its roots in Cuevan agriculture.7 The development of the Darién began in the minds of leaders in Panama and planners in the United States who saw a new value in its landscape. In the years after World War II, both nationalists in
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations
    Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Mark P. Sullivan Specialist in Latin American Affairs November 27, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL30981 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary With five successive elected civilian governments, the Central American nation of Panama has made notable political and economic progress since the 1989 U.S. military intervention that ousted the regime of General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power. Current President Ricardo Martinelli of the center-right Democratic Change (CD) party was elected in May 2009, defeating the ruling center-left Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in a landslide. Martinelli was inaugurated to a five-year term on July 1, 2009. Martinelli’s Alliance for Change coalition with the Panameñista Party (PP) also captured a majority of seats in Panama’s National Assembly. Panama’s service-based economy has been booming in recent years – with a growth rate of 7.6% in 2010 and 10.6% in 2011 – largely because of the ongoing Panama Canal expansion project, now slated for completion in early 2015. The CD’s coalition with the PP fell apart at the end of August 2011when President Martinelli sacked PP leader Juan Carlos Varela as Foreign Minister. Varela, however, retains his position as Vice President. Tensions between the CD and the PP had been growing throughout 2011, largely related to which party would head the coalition’s ticket for the 2014 presidential election. Despite the breakup of the coalition, the strength of the CD has grown significantly since 2009 because of defections from the PP and the PRD and it now has a majority on its own in the legislature.
    [Show full text]
  • The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project
    The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR AMBLER H. MOSS, JR. Interviewed by: Donald Barnes Initial interview date: December 13, 1988 Copyright 1998 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Panama 1978-1982 Initial involvement in Panama Panama Canal Treaties Latin American relations with U.S. after Treaty Working with Ellsworth Bunker and Sol Linowitz Omar Torrijos Noriega Relations with Noriega in the late 1980’s U.S. errors in dealing with Panama Ambassadorial control over embassy Experiences in Spain and Dominican Republic Torrijos Attitude towards President Carter Fatal plane crash Conclusions INTERVIEW [Note: This interview was not edited by Ambassador Moss.] Q: First of all, I would like to thank you for agreeing to this interview and talking about your career, particularly your Ambassadorship and I'd like to ask you first of all, how did you get to become an Ambassador? MOSS: Well, I guess my case was a little bit unusual and I wasn't quite a career Ambassador and wasn't quite a run-of-the-mill political appointee. I'd been in the Foreign Service as a career from 1964-1971, had served in Spain, on the Spanish Desk and at the U.S. Mission of the OAS. And, in that latter capacity, had worked for [Ambassador 1 Ellsworth] Bunker and [Ambassador Sol M.] Linowitz. I left in 1971, went into law practice in Europe, then came back in as a political appointee in the beginning of the Carter Administration in February of 1977. Invited by Linowitz and Bunker, who were the co-negotiators for the Panama Canal Treaty to join the negotiating team.
    [Show full text]
  • Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua: Explaining Economic Success Levels
    University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2013 Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua: explaining economic success levels Kevin Negy University of Central Florida Part of the Political Science Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Negy, Kevin, "Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua: explaining economic success levels" (2013). HIM 1990-2015. 1442. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1442 COSTA RICA, PANAMA, AND NICARAGUA: EXPLAINING ECONOMIC SUCCESS LEVELS by KEVIN NEGY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in International and Global Studies in the College of Sciences and in The Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2013 Thesis Chair: Dr. Houman Sadri © 2013 Kevin Negy ii Abstract Latin America is a region that has deep roots in Spanish colonialism. Since its independence, many countries in the region have heavily depended on agriculture exports to industrialized states to support their economies. This has led to political theorists to label Latin America as an area full of “periphery” countries that are exploited for resources by “core countries. Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua were not the exception. In recent years, however, a noticeable difference between the economies of the countries has helped Costa Rica and Panama become more successful than Nicaragua, on the basis of GDP, GNI, and other similar measures.
    [Show full text]
  • Adrien and Jean Bouchã© Collection on Panama
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt28703505 No online items Adrien and Jean Bouché collection on Panama Processed by Aida Cuevas and Sara Seltzer, Student Processing Assistants, 2009. Special Collections & University Archives The UCR Library P.O. Box 5900 University of California Riverside, California 92517-5900 Phone: 951-827-3233 Fax: 951-827-4673 Email: [email protected] URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives © 2009 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Adrien and Jean Bouché collection MS 008 1 on Panama Descriptive Summary Title: Adrien and Jean Bouché collection on Panama Date (inclusive): 1699-2009, undated Date (bulk): 1900-1990 Collection Number: MS 008 Creator: Bouché, Adrien Creator: Bouché, Jean Extent: 44.49 linear feet(52 boxes, 1 flat file folder) Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department. Riverside, CA 92517-5900 Abstract: This collection is comprised of books, pamphlets, documents, correspondence, press clippings, maps, reports, periodicals, photographs, and other material pertaining to the history and culture of the Panama Canal, the Canal Zone, and the Republic of Panama. Materials document a wide spectrum of subjects, including the exploration and construction of a Central American isthmian canal, the administrative and bureaucratic structure of the Canal Zone, tourism in Panama, residential life in the Canal Zone, and the political relationship between the United States and the Republic of Panama. A substantial amount of the collection is also devoted to the historical and literary study, and journalistic documentation, of both the Panama Canal and the Republic of Panama. In addition, the collection contains the personal papers of Adrien and Jean Bouché and those of Art Mokray, a resident of the Republic of Panama.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    PANAMA COUNTRY READER TABLE OF CONTENTS Edward W. Clark 1946-1949 Consular Officer, Panama City 1960-1963 Deputy Chief of Mission, Panama City Walter J. Silva 1954-1955 Courier Service, Panama City Peter S. Bridges 1959-1961 Visa Officer, Panama City Clarence A. Boonstra 1959-1962 Political Advisor to Armed Forces, Panama Joseph S. Farland 1960-1963 Ambassador, Panama Arnold Denys 1961-1964 Communications Supervisor/Consular Officer, Panama City David E. Simcox 1962-1966 Political Officer/Principal Officer, Panama City Stephen Bosworth 1962-1963 Rotation Officer, Panama City 1963-1964 Principle Officer, Colon 1964 Consular Officer, Panama City Donald McConville 1963-1965 Rotation Officer, Panama City John N. Irwin II 1963-1967 US Representative, Panama Canal Treaty Negotiations Clyde Donald Taylor 1964-1966 Consular Officer, Panama City Stephen Bosworth 1964-1967 Panama Desk Officer, Washington, DC Harry Haven Kendall 1964-1967 Information Officer, USIS, Panama City Robert F. Woodward 1965-1967 Advisor, Panama Canal Treaty Negotiations Clarke McCurdy Brintnall 1966-1969 Watch Officer/Intelligence Analyst, US Southern Command, Panama David Lazar 1968-1970 USAID Director, Panama City 1 Ronald D. Godard 1968-1970 Rotational Officer, Panama City William T. Pryce 1968-1971 Political Officer, Panama City Brandon Grove 1969-1971 Director of Panamanian Affairs, Washington, DC Park D. Massey 1969-1971 Development Officer, USAID, Panama City Robert M. Sayre 1969-1972 Ambassador, Panama J. Phillip McLean 1970-1973 Political Officer, Panama City Herbert Thompson 1970-1973 Deputy Chief of Mission, Panama City Richard B. Finn 1971-1973 Panama Canal Negotiating Team James R. Meenan 1972-1974 USAID Auditor, Regional Audit Office, Panama City Patrick F.
    [Show full text]
  • Acbianculli Explaining Latin American Regionalism in A
    Explaining Latin American Regionalism in a Changing World i Andrea C. Bianculli Research Fellow, Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) [email protected] Paper prepared to be presented at FLACSO-ISA Joint International Conference “Global and Regional Powers in a Changing World” Buenos Aires, 23-25 July 2014 University of Buenos Aires, School of Economics Draft – Please do not quote without permission ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction How and why has regionalism changed in Latin America? This paper explores a variety of theories and empirical studies that seek to answer this question. It concentrates primarily on regional initiatives in these countries. In so doing, the paper focuses on literatures in international relations, international political economy and comparative politics given the vague distinction between the international and the national levels that have pervaded the regional literature (Tickner, 2008). The scholarship in question here is largely a product of the last more than 60 years. Still despite the long history of regional cooperation, theoretical analyses have remained minimal until the 1990s, when the study of regions and regionalism came to prominence. Whereas regional projects in Latin America date back to the late 1940s and economic cooperation gained momentum during the following two decades, as these were marred by problems and contradictions because of conflicting interests and expectations, these initiatives faced political deadlocks, did not get off the ground or even collapsed at an early 1 stage. The 1990s, by contrast, witnessed the resurgence of intraregional relations and cooperation. As regional activism deepened and broadened, scholars became interested in investigating and theorizing the conditions under which these new regional impetus had emerged and the extent to which it entailed or not a rupture with the past.
    [Show full text]
  • 405 Bernard Diederich Former Latin America Correspondent Bernard
    book reviews 405 Bernard Diederich Seeds of Fiction: Graham Greene’s Adventures in Haiti and Central America, 1954–1983. London: Peter Owen, 2012. 315 pp. (Cloth us$29.95) Former Latin America correspondent Bernard Diederich’s account of his rela- tionship with Graham Greene and their journeys to Haiti and Central America from the 1950s to the 1980s is a most valuable memoir and resource for those interested in the peripatetic author and the troubled Cold War politics of the region. The renowned twentieth-century British writer gives the now retired journalist the perfect entrée to his specialist subject of Latin America in a book that is neatly divided into two equal parts, firstly dealing with Greene in Haiti and later in Central America. Diederich, a New Zealander by birth, details his first brief encounters with Greene from 1954 onward in Haiti, where the correspondent had set up an English-language weekly newspaper and lived with his Haitian wife. Like many writers and artists, Greene was attracted by the exotic black Caribbean repub- lic, independent since 1804. But Haiti’s relative peace was ruined from 1957 by the autocratic rule of country physician François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who soon ruled the ex-French colony as a repressive dictator, many of his subjects mesmerized by his cultivation of Voodoo. The early part of Diederich’s book gives an overview of Haitian history and is interspersed with travelogue. His newspaper’s anti-Duvalierist stance courts the wrath of the country’s self-appointed president-for-life and his Tontons Macoutes, a murderous plain-clothes militia.
    [Show full text]
  • Panama and Noriega: “Our SOB” Scott Rosenberg
    Panama and Noriega: “Our SOB” Scott Rosenberg On December 20, 1989, approximately twenty seven thousand American troops invaded Panama with the goals of apprehending Panama’s military dictator and de facto leader General Manuel Noriega and restoring democracy throughout the country. The invasion occurred a year and a half after two Florida grand juries indicted General Noriega on federal drug trafficking charges and after he had survived months of economic sanctions and back-channel tactics aimed at forcing him out. The morning following the invasion, President George H.W. Bush addressed the nation and described the objectives and reasons for “Operation Just Cause,” revealing that “the goals of the United States have been to safeguard the lives of Americans, to defend democracy in Panama, to combat drug trafficking, and to protect the integrity of the Panama Canal treaty.”i In retrospect, however, it appears clear that the United States could have rightly used the same justifications six years earlier, shortly after General Noriega assumed power in 1981. Why did the U.S. government wait so long, and what finally prompted it to invade and forcibly oust him in 1989? Historians have argued that Noriega’s drug trafficking and election tampering forced the United States’ hand, but I believe that it was his arrogance and utter lack of responsiveness to U.S. demands that eventually sealed his fate. Noriega had been involved in the international narcotics trade for years,ii and began installing puppet Panamanian presidents through election fraud as early as 1984, but the United States was willing to accept this activity because of his cooperation with what was perceived to be greater U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Omar Torrijos Y Su Influencia En La Lucha Canalera
    NUEVA LEY DE PROCESOS CONCURSALES DE INSOLVENCIA LA LISTA CLINTON Y LA JURISPRUDENCIA COLOMBIANA Omar Torrijos y su influencia en la ISSN 1726-0485 Edición Mayo ´16 lucha Canalera Impacto Economico de la ampliación y otros proyectos CONTENT 6. 16. EDITORIAL CONSULT DOCTRINE & JU- WHAT WE DO WITH RISPRUDENCE THE EDUCATION? JUDGMENT ON MATERIAL AND MORAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY MALFUNCTION OF 8. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES. INVITED WRITER 20. CLINTON AND SCHEDULE COLOMBIAN JURISPRUDENCE POLITICS DONALD JOHN TRUMP AND HIS 13. ROAD TO DEFEAT NORMS OF INTEREST 24. COMPETE PROCESSES OF PANAMANIAN ECONOMY INSOLVENCY CONSUMER’S PRICE INDEX INDEPENDENT EXPERT COMMITTEE WAS CREATED EVOLUTION OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: MONTHLY AND CUMULATIVE VARIATION SOCIAL SECURITY GENERAL INCOME REGULATIONS WERE MODIFYIED MONTHLY ECONOMIC ACTIVITY INDEX IN PANAMA BANK SECTOR OF PANAMA IS KEPT TO GOOD PACE CONTENT 44. ACP SIGNED CONVENTION WITH COLLECTIVE PILOTS UNION ILLUSTRIOUS PEOPLE PROFILES OF MY FATHER OMAR CANAL EXPANSION AND ITS IMPACT TORRIJOS HERRERA ON THE PANAMANIAN ECOOMY SEMBLANZAS DE MI PADRE OMAR TORRIJOS HERRERA 31. 48. WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS CAPSULE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: AN ENGINE FOR JOB CREATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ECLAC and ILO UNEMPLOYMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN increase by 2016 BY ECONOMIC DETERIO- RATION REGIONAL THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CONTINUES BEING DECELERATED IN LATIN AMERICA G7 FUEL GROWTH OF GLOBAL 52. ECONOMY CULTURAL CAPSULE G7 NEEDED TO BOOST DEMAND AND ADDRESSING RESTRICTION SUPPLIES Colaboradores en esta edición José Javier Rivera J. Consejo Mario J. Galindo H. Rafael Fernández Lara Editorial Raquel Torrijos Giovana del C. Miranda G. Albin Rodríguez Mariela de Sanjur Augusto García Lisbeth Martéz Ailen Galván José Javier Rivera J.
    [Show full text]
  • Uivitednat..ON,Y
    UiVITEDNAT..ON,Y TWE.IVTY-EIGHTH YEAR th MEETING: 15 MARCH 1973 PANAMA CITY CONTENTS Page Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/l 695) . , . + . , . , , . , . , . , . 1 Adoptionoftheagenda . , , , . , , . , , . ,. , . , . , . , . , 1 Consideration of measures for the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security in Latin America in conformity with the provisions and principlesofthecharter ,.....,.,.....,. 1 S/P? * I 695 SIXTEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-FIFTH MEETING Held in the Legislative Palace, Panama City, on Thursday, 15 March 1973, at 10 a.m. President: Mr. Aquilino E. BOYD (Panama) guished representatives of the sister republics of Latin later: General Omar TORRIJOS (Panama). America; to the Chairman of the Latin American Group of the United Nations; to the Secretary-General of the Present: The representatives of the following States: Organization of American States; to the observers of States Australia, Austria, China, France, Guinea, India, Indonesia, from other regions and of other international organs; and Kenya, Panama, Peru, Sudan, Union of Soviet Socialist also to the world press, which has co-operated so greatly Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern with this small country in order to place us on the map of Ireland, United States of America and Yugoslavia. world dignity. Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/l695) 5. I come to speak to you now on behalf of a people that does not feed on hatred and whose simple hearts have led 1. Adoption of the agenda. us to forgive and forget offences and to guide our future toward the achievement of our own identity, For he who is 2. Consideration of measures for the maintenance and right need not resort to insults.
    [Show full text]
  • Hyper-Development, Waste, and Uneven Urban Spaces in Panama City Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
    Hyper-development, Waste, and Uneven Urban Spaces in Panama City Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Natasha Kimberly Sadoff, B.S. Graduate Program in Geography The Ohio State University 2015 Thesis Committee: Kendra Mc Sweeny, Advisor Ed Malecki Becky Mansfield Copyright by Natasha K. Sadoff 2015 Abstract Panama City is experiencing unprecedented urban development, particular in terms of elite real estate and finance, growth associated with the widening of the canal, and illicit activities such as money laundering. Not surprisingly, this hyper-growth is exacerbating environmental hazards whose costs are unevenly borne by residents. A case in point is the 2013 Cerro Patacón Landfill fire and subsequent air quality crisis. Cerro Patacón is a landfill just outside the city where regional waste is delivered and stored. In March 2013, a portion of the landfill caught on fire, releasing harmful toxins into the air for nearly two weeks. While sooty air engulfed the entire city, it was poor residents who experienced the greatest impacts of the fire in terms of respiratory and other health conditions. State response to the fire has not been to address the fundamental question of waste management or uneven exposure to waste-related hazards. Rather, the Panamanian government—with international support —is promoting a neoliberal response and emphasizing that when air quality in the city is poor, residents can ‘choose’ to modify their behaviors to avoid health risks. In my thesis, I use political ecology and social metabolism to conceptualize the city, waste, and development as interdependent and foundationally co-constituting.
    [Show full text]
  • H-Diplo Article Review No
    H20-Diplo Article14 Review H-Diplo Article Review Editors: Thomas Maddux and H-Diplo Diane Labrosse H-Diplo Article Reviews Web and Production Editor: George Fujii h-diplo.org/reviews/ No. 490 Commissioned for H-Diplo by Thomas Maddux Published on 9 October 2014 Tom Long. “Putting the Canal on the Map: Panamanian Agenda-Setting and the 1973 Security Council Meetings.” Diplomatic History 38:2 (April 2014): 431-455. DOI: 10.1093/dh/dht096. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/dh/dht096 URL: http://tiny.cc/AR490 or http://h-diplo.org/reviews/PDF/AR490.pdf Reviewed by Andrew J. Kirkendall, Texas A&M University t is not often that a journal article arrives in a scholar’s mail on a Monday, is read on Tuesday, and has its findings incorporated into a lecture on Wednesday. But it says I something about my admiration for what Tom Long has accomplished here that this was the case in my spring course on the history of inter-American relations. Long demonstrates convincingly that the government of General Omar Torrijos, an ideologically ambiguous populist dictator, was able to use the United Nations Security Council to help get stalled bilateral talks over the future of the Panama Canal moving again. Following the riots over the issue of the flying of the Panamanian flag in the Canal Zone in 1964, the Lyndon Baines Johnson administration had promised to move toward a gradual fulfillment of Panamanian aspirations to sovereignty over the Canal Zone and the Canal itself. A treaty signed in 1967, however, had never been submitted to either country’s legislature for ratification.
    [Show full text]