Emergency meetings as Panama political crisis deepens

Panama’s political crisis  is  deepening   with a stand-off    between the Legislature and the Executive, and alleged interference by the Supreme Court and President  Varela threatening to overrule deputies in the National Assembly

More sectors of society, businessmen and lawyers are in constant meetings with the forces that govern the National Assembly, seeking to find ways to reduces the power struggle.

Members of the National Bar Association (CNA), who met yesterday with deputies of the CD and PRD, consider the institutional “ very serious.”

The president of the ANC, Dionicio Rodríguez, warned that the precedent is dangerous in that a single magistrate (Abel Zamorano) of the Supreme Court of J, unilaterally, suspends an internal administrative act of the Assembly plenary.

“The legislative plenary is independent and is concerned about the interference of another State Organ,” he said.

Rodriguez told El SIglo that, in the case of the illegal appeals presented by the [ruling] Panameñista deputies, over the decomposition of the old Credentials Commission:” saying they are not viable, creates a disastrous precedent, [because] tomorrow any Deputy can presents an appeal and paralyze the entire National Assembly.

He said that the safeguards of guarantees presented by re-elected deputies, over the issue of the audits of the comptroller Federico Humbert, for the leader they are also not viable either, and  “all the deputies involved in the issue must be held accountable”.

A meeting of the State Pact for Justice is planned for next Wednesday, at 3:00 p.m. when representatives of the three State Bodies (Legislative, Executive and Judicial) will meet.