Andrés Farrugia Speaks of a Park or Monument at the Mirador de las Américas in Panama
The manager of the Caja de Ahorros Bank confirmed that the land where the destroyed monument to the Chinese community stood, belongs to that banking institution.
Andrés Farrugia, general manager of Caja de Ahorros, accompanied by Maruja Herrera, Minister of Culture and members of the Chinese community, toured the site of the former Mirador de las Américas, which was demolished by the mayor of Arraiján, Stefany Peñalba, unleashing a wave of criticism and complaints against her. “We are meeting with Minister Herrera and representatives of the Chinese community to explore the possibility of creating some kind of park, monument, or similar project that values and highlights the contributions of the Chinese community in Panama,” Farrugia said.
“We have agreed with them to make the necessary revisions to establish something beautiful, modern, and that allows for multiculturalism and even has the possibility of having spaces for displays of Panamanian artistic expressions,” Farrugia noted. The manager of Caja de Ahorros emphasized that “they are of Panamanian descent, but they are also Panamanians, and we are highlighting the Panamanian culture that has been formed with the support of various communities,” he explained.
Farrugia took the opportunity to clarify that the aforementioned land has belonged to Caja de Ahorros since 1993, but that “in an act of goodwill, a kind of administrative concession was given to the Panamanian Chinese group that was going to carry out this project.” The manager of Caja de Ahorros, however, said that although the concession term had expired, that banking institution had no involvement whatsoever in the demolition of the monument and the viewpoint. “We didn’t participate and it really caught us by surprise just like everyone else,” he said.
