Politicians play taxpayer-funded Santa Claus

On Christmas Eve, politicians with aspirations to repeat, including some who intend to reach or return to the Government through a popularly elected position, have already begun a political campaign that, as in previous years, is not authorized, is defined by a pattern of political patronage and almost certainly paid for with our taxes. It is a campaign that is not based on promises –which, however, spent and broken, are ineffective– but on “giving away” electrical appliances, hams, bags of food, etc. On the surface, the excuse is Christmas, but deep down, the reason is vote buying. The Government not only lends itself to the rascal but also finances it, as in the case of hams, which has allocated a whopping $25 million to this item alone. While the streets of the capital, the interior of the country, and the Inter-American Highway have become roads for horses and carts, these people have the luxury of campaigning with the taxes that should be destined to improve the quality of life of all Panamanians, and not just a handful sympathetic to the government This is nothing more than mocking the purity of the suffrage.- LA PRENSA, Dec. 19.