Panama Government Rasputins and the "New Normal"
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a highly influential Russian mystic in the last years of the Romanov dynasty. He belonged to the sect of flagellants, who believed that Christ could be incarnated in any man. One of his maxims was: “The most heinous sins must be committed, because God will be more pleased to forgive great sinners.” Highly ambiguous and incredibly easy to speak, Rasputin was the man who got jobs and allowed business in exchange for large sums of money for his favors.
We are living moments of uncertainty, attacked by a deadly virus that has changed the dynamics of our lives writes Diana Peña de Ortiz in La Prensa
As a Panamanian, I feel submerged in a sea of inappropriate, toxic and opportunistic actions. We continue with the same “status quo” of job appointments for political commitments, cronyism or familiarity.
The country is subject to groups that respond to different currents within the same party or related to it. It is like a big cake divided into pieces of different sizes. We are a ship adrift, we lack leadership and if one day something is said, the next day the opposite is done.
They promise us that we will reach a “new normal”, but, I wonder: will it be normal to walk with masks, gel and alcohol? Is it normal not to be able to meet with our relatives and hug and kiss them? Gentlemen, the “new normal” does not exist. Our new reality is much more difficult and complex.
We lack transparency and accountability. Millions of dollars have been processed through loans and bonds to meet the multiple needs of the health sector in these times of pandemic. However, we observe with pain and anguish how medical personnel complain because they have not received their salaries for more than 2, 3 or 4 fortnights and because they do not have adequate supplies for their protection and safety. So I wonder: where is the money? Don’t tell me it’s the government bureaucracy. It is unacceptable! For this, there must have been due planning in time and space. You were supposed to work with the best, but we lack equality in the application of the laws. There is a defenselessness where the one who has the means, if he has a problem with the law, gets house or country arrest as “jail” There is a lack of fulfillment of what was promised. Promises are made, which are then forgotten and, of course, not kept.
I believed with great enthusiasm that a better Panama would come. I feel frustrated and powerless at not being able against these great powers. It is a fight between David and Goliath, but with a David without her wave or her stone.
I feel anguish and grief when I listen and see that other countries have managed to combat these deficiencies and have come forward. Envy of the good! Prayers, faith and hope are what keep me in spirit and courage to see if one day these Rasputins come to an end.
The author is an architect
