OPINION: The Odebrecht Carousel

Odebrecht has not paid Panama for two years what was agreed in the collaboration agreement in which it promised to pay $220 million for having bribed officials who do not admit having received bribes. The company alleges that it does not pay because Panama also owes it money for the projects it has built, as if such an excuse were a condition to cancel what it owes the country for its corruption policy. What Panama owes you for the works has nothing to do with the collaboration agreement and, therefore, your argument lacks weight. Both the Public Ministry – under the management of Eduardo Ulloa – and the Ministry of Economy and Finance have had to exert more pressure on the company, but what we perceive is a bit important with this debt. Odebrecht owes Panama more than $36 million, money that is needed to face the serious fiscal crisis that the country is going through. On the other hand, let’s hope that what Panama owes Odebrecht will not be used for new bribery ventures, which is how it all started. –LA PRENSA,Mar. 16