Populist initiatives wasting Assemblys time
POPULISM did not win the last election, but some of the legislators sitting in the National Assembly haven’t recognized that and are wasting the Assembly’s time putting forward projects that are being mocked .
The opinion comes Deputy José Luis Varela, of the governing Panameñista party, who says: “The work of the Assembly is being affected by members who have not understood that populism did not win the last election. The Panamanians voted the way they did because they had democracy, and wanted to defend our institutions” he said.
“The Panamanian people do not even agree with many of these time wasters.
“The proposals submitted by some deputies include ones identifying official traditional footwear and stew, another which provides free surgery to combat obesity, one banning the flying of foreign flags in public and one that offers subsidies to night-school students and pregnant women. The proposals have come from both the CD and PRD parties. “Such laws do nothing to help Panamanians,” he said.
“It is their constitutional and legal right as a member to present them, but I think these type of draft legislations are doing great damage to the Assembly.” Varela said that these initiatives are overshadowing the positive work being done.