OPINION: Ombudsman’s office  becoming a political reward

The Ombudsman’s Office faces an institutional crisis. The entity, which was created more than two decades ago to defend the human rights of Panamanians and foreigners who inhabit this territory, faces a cruel paradox: the Defensoría has no one to defend it. Partisan politics has turned the entity into a spoil of the government of the day, another space that must be filled by those who “walked” seeking votes, or by loyal bearers of the party card. Gone are the claims that the Ombudsman was a spokesperson for the great social, political, economic and environmental claim. Although he had glimpses of this in his beginnings, the most recent defenders are remembered for the aggressive use of cell phones, the luxury spending on furniture, or for having reduced a giant to a rag doll. In addition to the specific situation of the defender on duty, the institution has to regain its central role in criticism and in questioning power. More than an office job, the Ombudsman must be seen and understood as a vocation of service, in favor of those who have no voice, or of those to whom no one listens. Today, the Ombudsman’s Office is about to become another source of appointments and another valley of the fallen for defeated politicians. Because of all this, human rights in Panama have suffered a great loss. The Ombudsman must be seen and understood as a vocation of service, in favor of those who have no voice, or of those to whom no one listens. Today, the Ombudsman’s Office is about to become another source of appointments and another valley of the fallen for defeated politicians. Because of all this, human rights in Panama have suffered a great loss. The Ombudsman must be seen and understood as a vocation of service, in favor of those who have no voice, or of those to whom no one listens. Today, the Ombudsman’s Office is about to become another source of appointments and another valley of the fallen for defeated politicians. Because of all this, human rights in Panama have suffered a great loss.- LA PRENSA, Sep.28