OPINION: Protecting corruption at all costs
In November 1949, the plenary of the Supreme Court decided with gallantry that the President of the Republic was not Roberto Chiari, but Daniel Chanis. This ruling directly challenged the military leadership and Panamanian economic power. In another November, the plenum of the Supreme Court has shown signs of lack of gallantry and lack of patriotism. In what appears to be another homage to impunity, the magistrates debated how to get rid of the most important case that this supreme court has. This same year, the Court was unable to condemn the contempt of the deputy president of the National Assembly, and months later, it gave a pat on the hand to another deputy responsible for the death of a minor. The principal and substitute magistrates who are part of this tragicomedy know they will go unpunished, no matter the effort that the magistrate Jerónimo Mejía made to guarantee due process in the wiretapping case. That did not matter to them. It is clear that we live in a state of total helplessness. A plurality of the judges of the Court, and a good part of the Panamanian political class, are not interested in combating corruption, but protecting it at all costs. – LA PRENSA, Nov.30