MEDIA WATCH: A legacy of corruption

Hoy por Hoy, La Prensa, October 14

TIstmo, S.A. was used so that the ex-president, his family and his associates were part of the lucrative world of hydropower. Apparently, all the State affairs became business opportunities for the boss and his zero circle. He did not even have scruples over  bringing  his children into  his shady dealings with the state. Now the urgency of the “sausage law” is explained; because it was necessary to undermine the former National Environmental Authority, the Public Ministry and the organized civil society. If the public policies became sources of income, those who opposed them -whether they were politicians, journalists, trade unionists, entrepreneurs or indigenous- they were a barrier that should be neutralized to obtain maximum profits.

The open-pit mining, the destruction of mangroves and forests and rivers speculation in western Panama are part of the terrible legacy of corruption that we need to amend. First, we need the prosecutors and judges to do their job; and then we must recover people’s goods.