COVID-19 exposes “he stole but he did” mantra

Although the health outlook is beginning to look positive, the race for economic recovery will be a long marathon. The State is restricted in what it can provide to the population, during and after the crisis. Now, better than ever, the very serious damage that corruption, with state resources, has caused to the entire country is evident. The “turnkey” with surcharges, the bids arranged, the bribes of Odebrecht and Blue Apple and the ineffectiveness of the justice system in punishing the perpetrators of these embezzlements of the last decade left us indebted and with a very financial capacity to respond. limited. If instead of a decade of exaggerated indebtedness had been saved, the country would have a scenario similar to that of the Scandinavian nations, that they have been able to cover most of the wages of private-sector workers, keeping alive a vigorous sector of SMEs. Our panorama is different and will require a lot of sacrifices to get ahead. “He stole but he did”, has become the death and poverty of Panamanians .- LA PRENSA, Apr  21