MEDIA WATCH: When politicians deny corruption is a problem

Hoyporhoy La Prensa. April 1

IN DISCUSSING the new Public Procurement Act, the deputies of the National Assembly have made it clear they are indifferent to the expressions of concern from the public, and that the technical contributions of the Solicitor General and civil society seem irrelevant.

The result, at the end of the first debate, is that companies like Odebrecht, and people like its owner, and others of the same ilk, have received the shield so they can stay in our system successfully bidding for government purchases.

This action confirms the public view that politicians and the treasury are available to the highest bidder, no matter who. In the Panama Republic, taxpayers and citizens, troubled by the waste of state resources also have to endure a political class that denies that corruption is a problem.