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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #1726/01 2501701
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071701Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8889
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//J5/J2/POLAD//

UNCLAS PANAMA 001726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PM
SUBJECT: TORRIJOS APPEALS TO PUBLIC FOR CANAL EXPANSION 
SUPPORT 
 
REF: PANAMA 866 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) President Torrijos urged the Panamanian people to 
take advantage of the "unique and possibly irrepeatable" 
opportunity of the October 22 Canal expansion referendum in 
his September 1 "state of the nation"- like address. 
Torrijos called on Panamanians to vote according to what was 
best for the country, not politics, stating that his support 
for the expansion project was purely for the benefit of the 
nation.  Torrijos's speech, delivered at the opening of the 
National Assembly's fall session, detailed a litany of public 
projects in the education, health, and security sectors, 
including a new capacity building program to benefit 200,000 
people, to be funded by $55 million in Canal revenues.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
TORRIJOS: A MAN WITH A PLAN AND A CANAL REFERENDUM 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  (U) Torrijos focused overwhelmingly on garnering support 
for the October 22 Canal referendum.  He opened by 
"congratulating" the National Assembly for its "patriotic" 
unanimous approval of the law for the Canal expansion vote, a 
jab at the Panamenista and Molirena parties that have since 
assumed ambiguous to opposition positions. 
 
¶3.  (U) The President spoke at length about the significance 
of the referendum calling it a decision more important than 
even a presidential election.  The referendum should be seen 
as "an opportunity for the nation" and "in no way used as a 
political platform or electoral thermometer" to measure the 
government's performance, said Torrijos. (Comment: This 
statement clearly refers to the common belief that voters 
will vote based on their view of the GOP, not how they feel 
about the expansion project itself.  As the "yes" vote margin 
dips in polls, the "punishment vote" effect raises concerns 
for the GOP.  End Comment.)  Torrijos asserted, "Neither the 
GOP, the PRD, nor Martin Torrijos is searching for political 
gains through the Canal expansion." 
 
¶4.  (U) Torrijos also appealed to nationalism, stating it was 
time to show the world that Panamanians were indeed in 
control of its own Canal, something the nation owed itself 
after "fighting for 100 years" to "reclaim" the Canal. 
Torrijos also mentioned the "youth who died" fighting for 
Panama's control of the Canal, a pointed reference to the 
1964 protest at the Canal Administration building during 
which U.S. forces killed several Panamanian students 
participating in an attempt to raise a Panamanian flag. 
 
BIG PLANS FOR EDUCATION, HEALTH, SECURITY 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Besides addressing the merits of Canal expansion, 
Torrijos detailed various GOP projects in education, health, 
and security, including: 
 
a) providing $600 million in education funds, 
b) granting 23,000 student scholarships, 
c) cleaning the Bay of Panama, 
d) building additional hospitals, 
e) constructing the long-awaited Panama City-Colon highway, 
f) building a potable water plant (Comment: The week before, 
major news outlets reported a serious lack of potable water 
in certain communities.  End Comment.) 
g) expanding the North and South highways, and 
h) bringing additional police presence to the streets.  On 
September 6, the GOP announced the purchase of 81 new patrol 
cars. 
 
(Comment: When addressing health issues, Torrijos singled out 
Cuba's Operacion Milagro for praise and did not mention 
assistance from any other country, despite the large 
contingent of diplomatic observers in the gallery.  End 
Comment.)  Torrijos's discussion of the various projects fit 
under his theme of fighting poverty, building trust in 
government, and leading Panama into the first world.  The 
underlying thrust of Torrijos's message, though, was that the 
best way to benefit the country and fight poverty was through 
Canal expansion. 
 
 
¶6.  (U) One of the most notable projects Torrijos mentioned 
was the proposal to train 200,000 Panamanians as mechanics, 
electricians, and other technical workers, using $55 million 
in Canal revenue.  This capacity building project would be 
the first program to visibly use Canal earnings to benefit 
the larger public.  The program would begin next year. 
(Comment: The announcement of this project is aimed at 
addressing a common criticism voiced by "No" vote groups who 
claim the Canal's revenues benefit only the rich, not average 
Panamanians.  However, given that this program would begin 
next year, it remains to be seen whether yet another GOP 
promise will sway undecided voters to the "Yes" column.  As 
with the GOP's newfound desire to pursue a "National 
Development Plan," voters may well greet this latest set of 
promises with a healthy dose of skepticism (Septel).  End 
Comment.) 
 
ASSEMBLY REELECTS CASTILLO AS PRESIDENT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Prior to Torrijos's address, the National Assembly 
elected its new president and two vice-presidents.  Incumbent 
President Elias Castillo (PRD) was reelected, while Susanna 
Richards de Torrijos (PRD and President Torrijos's aunt) was 
elected as first vice-president and Jorge Alvarado (PRD) as 
second vice-president.  The opposition parties fielded 
candidates for all three elections, but there appeared to be 
little unity among the opposition parties as many opposition 
legislators voted for PRD candidates.  (Comment: The 
Panamenista and Cambio Democratico parties put women forward 
as their candidates for National Assembly President.  This 
may be interpreted as an optimistic sign on the participation 
of women in politics or as the parties' attempt to draw 
attention in an election where the opposition candidates were 
unlikely to win given the PRD majority.  It was also 
noteworthy that several legislators, in voicing their support 
for one of the women candidates, made more mention of her 
physical beauty than her leadership abilities or other 
qualifications.  End Comment.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) From the logistics of the National Assembly 
elections, where many legislators chose to precede their 
votes with commentaries in favor or against Canal expansion, 
to the president's impassioned pleas to the Panamanian people 
"to do what's right for the country," the event focused 
heavily on the upcoming referendum.  It is too early to tell 
whether Torrijos's latest call for support for the national 
(vice partisan) project to expand the Canal, his appeal to 
patriotism, or newly announced social projects will stem 
erosion of support for Canal expansion and allow Torrijos to 
strengthen the "yes" vote.  Given that he offered up similar 
appeals in announcing the project last April (reftel), voters 
may well discount this latest call as more of the same.  The 
referendum remains the overarching, indeed sole, focus of 
Torrijos. 
 
ARREAGA