Martinelli, lawmakers, parties, not trusted – report

PRESIDENT RICARDO Martinelli, Panama’s lawmakers and the parties they belong to. are the country’s entities not trusted says the latest report of the Barometer of the Americas.

Conversely the institutions in which people have the most confidence are Catholic and Evangelical churches, the Panama Canal Authority and the media.

The study, which also ranks Panama as one of the five countries [from 26] with higher perception of corruption, is based on a survey of 1.500 Panamanians throughout the republic, with a margin of error of 2.5%.
Orlando Perez, a researcher at the University of Michigan, believes that the words of the president, , "are polarizing."
"Exclusions and attack, are creating a climate in which democracy and the people lose” he said.
The report, which appears every two years, also shows that the perception of corruption in the isthmus increased, compared to 2010. On a scale of 0-100, Panama in 2010 was rated 76.2%, while in 2012, the year in which samples were taken for the study, obtained 78.4%.
Among other things, respondents were asked about whether they have paid bribes to police, the courts, or officials.