Naming of “scandal” park opposed

PANAMA CITY MAYOR José Blandon has added his voice to the growing number of objections to the naming of a Panama City park ,after a Ricardo Martinelli insider. The park at the Paitilla end of the Cinta Costera was created after a scandal involving another close associate of Ricardo Martinelli.
Blandon, on Tuesday, July 15 questioned the decision to name  the park after former governor Mayin Correa,..

“I think Mayin Correa was one of the best mayors that the city has had,” said Blandón prior to a session of the Municipal Council. But, he added, the process for naming public places after people has to be examined.
The decision to name the park after Correa was made by the National Land Administration Authority without consulting with the Municipal Council.
The park built on the controversial land in Paitilla, which the National Authority of Land Management transferred free to florist César Segura in 2011, was named “Park Mayín Correa”.
The controversy, over the naming came after officials , civil society representative’s and entrepreneurs have since 2011 publicly requested that the green space be named it Galimany Guillermo Endara.
Three years ago the president of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDA) Enrique Obarrio first suggested naming the park after Endarra.
After learning that the area would carry the name of the former governor, Obarrio considered it to be a “shame” since everyone knows the story behind the construction of this structure reports La Prensa.
The “scandal” that the president of Apede referred to was an investigation conducted by La Prensa in 2011 that revealed that one of the true beneficiaries with free conveyance of the land was the property entrepreneur Gabriel Gaby Btesh In partnership with Felipe Virzi.
Two lawyers involved with Btesh -managed registration of the land, in the Public Registry through the company Segura Ventures, SA, to the florist who ceded ownership rights.
Gaby Btesh was part of the circle of businessmen close to the president Ricardo Martinelli During the past administration.
Another entrepreneur who suggested using the Endarra name was Roberto Troncoso who also served aspresident of Apede.
On September 8, 2011:. He Tweeted “The so-called Cinta Costera Park, Should be called Democracy Park, Guillermo Endara In honor of the civil struggle.”
He said he had “nothing against Mayín Correa”, but the merits of Endara outnumber the former governor. “She has her merits, but Endara had ohers: such as the fight against the dictatorship, integrity and honesty”
Troncoso Even said that on one occasion he personally proposed to the former governor that the name of Guillermo Endara be given to the park.
The Deputy Mayor of Panama, Raisa Banfield, said earlier that In this case the subject must first pass through the Municipal Council of Panama, Which is the agency responsible for approving the nomenclature in the district capital. “I think this issue can be reviewed.” provided the authority.
The Bella Vista representative, Ricardo Dominguez, said that the name of the park never passed by the Council. “There was no discussion and there was no consultation.”
The area now contains an amphitheater, children’s play area, indoor gym, two social areas, three balconies and a breakwater. It also has an obelisk in honor of the Isthmus of Panama and the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the South Sea which has been described as a “failed rocket ship to Mars.”
This structure is in the district of San Francisco and there are reports of Constantly the state of neglect in Which Their facilities are located.
Fernando Jaramillo Díaz, leader of the Alliance for the City, stressed there was no consultation.
“This is one of the last expressions of the outgoing government, that was characterized by imposing decisions without consulting Panamanians” he said.