MEDIA WATCH: Badmouthing the Canal

MORE THAN 90 SHIPS are waiting to transit through the Panama Canal. If the extension had been delivered in October 2014, these vessels would have crossed the waterway days ago.

This situation represents an ongoing challenge for the Panama Canal Authority. However, the erratic port policy of the National Assembly directly threatens the future of the benefits that the Canal generates for Panamanians. The mega-ports of Mariel, in Cuba; Buenaventura in Colombia, and the expansion of the port of Miami shows that our neighbors in the region are preparing themselves to take advantage of the third set of locks, for which we, Panamanians, paid. Do the deputies prefer to favor foreign interests over Panamanian interests? The future of the Canal is not a matter of politics and demagogy. It is irresponsible for the fathers of the Nation persist in delivering bad news about the Canal and insist on turning their backs to the people.Hoy por Hoy, La Prensa, October 16.