OPINION: Lies and more lies

Panamanians are perhaps the most patient people on earth. Hearing politicians tell so many lies under our noses is something that seems to be part of the landscape. The mayor of the capital city, ministers of State, and the vast majority of the deputies do it alike. We have even heard the President of the Republic saying things that we know perfectly well are not true. In his campaign speeches, he even promised things that we knew he would not fulfill and we have seen with everything that is happening today. This is how citizens receive messages that are not edifying and little by little they adopt this pattern of behavior and begin to behave the same way. Examples? A minister who says that the holes in the streets are in our imagination and another who repeats that there is no insecurity; deputies who claim to be as poor as an artisanal fisherman; a mayor who in his government plan promised a new market and when he came to power asked “what market are you talking about?” A ruler who promises a constituent assembly and then distances himself from the issue. Officials of the National Assembly who promise transparency, accountability, containment of spending, fewer privileges and everything is a story. Lies and more lies. –  LA PRENSA, Sep. 24.