Rubén Blades posits a transitional government  in 2024

The singer-songwriter Rubén Blades who wants independent presidential candidates to unite, on Sunday on TVN raised the possibility of closing the National Assembly and installing a transitional government. He suggested that the government that wins the elections of 2024 be one of transition for three years to make the structural changes that, in his opinion, the country requires.

“What you must have are clear arguments, you tell the people, if you win those arguments you present it to the country through a referendum. If the people accept it then you make them into bills and if the Assembly refuses to change the norms that the people themselves have said, then the president has the ability to close the Assembly”, he explained.

In his opinion, to dismantle the “corrupt and patronage State” that exists in Panama, it is necessary to reform the codes and laws, which facilitate or allow impunity for these acts.

“We have to review all the codes. To create a new structure and administrative paradigm, I would eliminate the ministries and create another structure because someone needs to drive the bus, but once you dry up the areas that feed corruption, you create the possibility of founding an efficient system not based on clientelism”, he stressed.

The economist Felippe Argote argued that in order to close the Assembly, it is necessary to comply with the processes that allow democratic continuity. He added that this election scheme where a deputy from one party comes out with 4,000 votes while an independent who got 9,000 votes is left out cannot continue.

For Blades, the best scheme to avoid corruption is to educate the people, who are the ones who vote for politicians. “As long as we don’t have that clear offer that really allows people to feel that things will go better without corruption, we will be in the same problem because when [corruption] is allowed and encouraged and people feel that justice doesn’t work, they simply take another route, I think that is one of the things that is encouraging this process of corruption in Panama: there are no consequences and there is impunity”, he argued.

The musician, who in recent weeks has been talking about the country’s political reality on his website “La Esquina de Rubén Blades”, asked himself this Sunday what will happen in 2024? “If we are going to have more of the same because I do not think that this situation (client relations) can continue indefinitely. Laurentino Cortizo and his party, Cambio Democrático and Panameñismo are part of the system, that is why the system must be changed”.

In the debate that arose about a parallel or original constituent assembly, the singer pointed out that the first thing is to present the arguments to the country, since once presented it can be determined if it is mature enough to practice an original or constituent assembly.