Noise and booze fest revitalizes the NIMBY syndrome

By David Young

The NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) syndrome is alive and well in Panama.

Who wants Panama’s annual “Carnaval “in their locality? No one it seems.
Residents living near Via España have been bombarding their local representative, radio stations and the government with denunciations, petitions and demands that this year’s event move elsewhere.
But where? Bethania dwellers even went to court to try and get rid of the noise, booze and sex fest, and Albrook residents cut it off at the pass when it was first suggested that it was their turn.
Panama’s Mr Bumble, Mayor Bosco Vallarino, proposed that Bacchanalia take place on the Cinta Costera, but that has received a permanent thumbs down from the government.
It appears that the mayor, who was roundly booed at the Panama Jazz Festival in Casco Viejo, has no power to grant permission for any big events on the coastal strip. Permits can only come from the government, and after the mess created by Bosco’s Christmas misadventure, big events will no longer be allowed.
Grass and shrubbery was destroyed and washrooms and fences vandalized. You didn’t have to be a crystal ball reader to figure that out. Even this column forecast the destruction weeks before the event took place.
It will cost the government scores of thousands of dollars to attempt to repair the damage.
Meanwhile, residents living near the Cinta Costera, from Bella Vista to Casco Viejo were preparing petitions against a proposed regular Sunday afternoon commercialnoise jamboreer by a local TV station.
Now they can spend their Sunday’s in peace, or join the army of joggers, cyclists, roller bladers and strollers who use the waterside paths. without a blaring back up.
The mayor’s responsibility lies solely in collecting garbage, and as a quick tour of the area will prove, he’s not doing a very good job at that.
The citizen’s who elected him after a smear campaign against his opponent, must be wondering when “garbage in garbage out” comes into play.
And a passing thought on the Cinta Costera, the lights on the waterside are still largely missing. At a time of increasing crime,  not a good omen for those wanting to take an evening stroll.
None of the above will bring hope to the residents of Via España whose petitions against "Carnaval" will likely be ignored.
They have protested against the noise, the garbage, increased crime, sexual activity. All on deaf ears.
The organizers say the music stops at midnight. And the rest? There will be more police around.So no need to make the annual distribution of condoms.
The organizers may face another problem. With water rationing on the horizon will President Ricardo Martinelli stand by while hoses from water trucks pour thousands of gallons of potable water on drunken revelers?
He has already said that not a penny of government funds will go to the carnival.
Thousands will leave the city. As author and poet Thomas Hardy once wrote: “And so do I”.