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FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
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RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
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C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON ENRG ELAB SNAR KCRM PM
SUBJECT: *PANAMA: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CALLS FOR 
CONSTITUYENTE 
 
 
Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo.  Reason:  1.4(d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) Asserting that Panama need "reinvention," Panamenista 
presidential nomination contender Marco Ameglio said he would 
call for a constitutional assembly (constituyente) during the 
first 18 months of his presidency to "redefine the republic." 
 "Today, I am issuing a 20-month plan, not a 60-month plan 
(the length of Panama's presidential term), for how I will 
govern when I am elected," Ameglio declared on January 23. 
Speaking to the Panamenista Party's traditional rural and 
working class base, Ameglio's speech was considerably more 
populist than recent addresses made by fellow contenders 
Alberto Vallarino and Juan Carlos Varela  His call for a 
constituyente was the last of series of proposals that 
included:  the elimination of the CAIR, essentially an 
alternative minimum tax (AMT); the reduction in the cost of 
electricity by re-negotiating concessions; opening a public 
bid process to reform Panama City's public transportation 
system; and increasing investments in law enforcement to 
combat crime.  While non-traditional leftist Panamanian 
groups, inspired by Chavez, make a constituyente a central 
element of their proposals, the center-right Panamenista 
Movement for Action (MAPA) and the respected president of 
Panama City tabloid "El Siglo," Ebrahim Asvat, have given the 
constituyente greater respectability.  While he remains a 
long-shot candidate to secure the Panamenista Party's 
presidential nomination, Ameglio is the first mainstream 
candidate to call for a constituyente, thus moving this 
proposal into the "legitimate" political debate.  It remains 
to be seen, however, how much resonance his constituyente 
proposal will have.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
"Charging Ahead (Voy de Frente)!" 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Adopting the mantra "Charging ahead (Voy de 
frente)!," Panamenista presidential nomination candidate 
Marco Ameglio laid out on January 23 a plan for governing 
should he be elected President.  Noting that Panama needed a 
president who "will confirm and demonstrate his ability and 
sincere determination to change the country, not waiting for 
sixty long months of government during which that 
administration dilutes itself with lies and excuses and 
passing the blame to others," Ameglio said, "What I propose 
is very different.  I present to you a proposal that will be 
executed and fulfilled in one third of that time, in twenty 
months."  Ameglio then reviewed a series of proposals in the 
following areas: 
 
-- Gasoline and fuels:  Ameglio called for cutting in half 
the tax on fuel, including gasoline.  The impact of this tax 
cut would be financed with the "excellent" tax income 
generated by Panama's economic growth and by a "fiscal 
reform" that would "guarantee" better distribution of the 
GOP's tax income.  Additionally, he said he would name a 
presidential advisor during his first 90 days to develop 
plans for alternative fuels, develop of new energy resources, 
and develop a national plan for efficiency and energy savings. 
 
-- Electricity:  In the face of rising electricity costs and 
the growing threat of electricity shortages, Ameglio proposed 
reviewing and renegotiating concession contracts with 
electricity distributors and generators in the first six 
months in office.  Ameglio asserted that the "state" would 
act as the consumers' representative.  Furthermore, he 
proposed that the GOP re-purchase Fortuna, Panama's largest 
hydroelectric generator, to "reduce directly and in favor of 
the consumers" the price of electricity. 
 
-- Public Transportation:  Also within the first six months 
in office, Ameglio said he would hold an international 
bidding process to implement a modern transportation system 
for Panama City.  Such a system would be "based on the 
efficient use of electricity" and would cover the entire 
metropolitan areas.  Panama's hydroelectric resources would 
power this electric public transportation system, "ensuring 
that transportation prices were kept low and that Panama 
would not depend on the high cost of imported fuel." 
 
-- Job Creation for Youth and Senior Citizens:  During his 
first month as president, Ameglio said he would propose a 
 
"First Job" bill to support youth between the ages of 18 and 
25 who had not previously worked.  Under this legislation, 
private companies would be provided "attractive incentives" 
to hire new entrants into the job market.  Also, he said he 
would create a Retired Executive Program through which senior 
citizens could earn additional income by providing advice to 
companies in need. 
 
-- Public Debt:  During his first 18 months in office, 
Ameglio said he would go to the "financial organizations" to 
propose "reordering and refinancing" of Panama's public debt. 
 Ameglio said his objective was to free up financial 
resources for greater investment in social services, 
particularly the fight against poverty.  (Comment:  This, 
despite the fact that the Torrijos Administration has done 
well to produce the GOP's first budget surplus in a decade to 
reduce Panama's debt-to-GDP ratio from about 70 percent in 
2004 to approximately 54 percent today.  End Comment.) 
 
-- Healthcare:  Ameglio voiced strong support for a "unitary" 
healthcare system, but provided few details.  Such a system 
would combine the healthcare services currently provided 
separately by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security 
Service (CSS). 
 
-- Education:  Ameglio promised to increase, "by no less than 
five percent each year," investment in education.  He would 
build new schools and recondition dilapidated schools. 
Additionally, he would build housing for students who needed 
to study far from home and install internet facilities in 
every school nationwide. 
 
-- Law Enforcement:  During his first year, Ameglio would 
increase investment in law enforcement by five percent. 
Hiring an additional thousand police officers, Ameglio said 
he would also invest in training, equipment, and modern 
technology.  Finally, he said he would improve the salary 
scale of the police. 
 
-- Tax Relief:  During his first ninety days, Ameglio said he 
would eliminate the CAIR, an alternative minimum tax (AMT) 
that was highly unpopular with Panamanian middle class 
professionals.  He asserted that the CAIR had been "expensive 
and unjust for small businessmen and professionals." 
 
-- Salary Adjustments:  During his first sixty days, Ameglio 
said he would introduce a draft general law on salaries that 
would establish an annual mechanism to establish salary 
adjustments so that salaries keep pace with the cost of 
living. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
"Reinvent the Republic" Through a Constituyente 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In order to advance "true reform," Ameglio said 
that he would "convoke a constituyente as provided for in 
Panama's current constitution" within his first 18 months in 
office.  The key objectives of this constitutional assembly 
would be:  "to design a political system that guarantees 
greater citizen participation," to establish "a more 
expeditious and truly independent judiciary;" and to create a 
"legislature that is more representative, efficient, and 
capable of responding to the great expectations of the 
Panamanian people." 
 
--------- 
The Crowd 
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¶4. (C) Absent from Ameglio's event were any A-list 
Panamenista luminaries.  Politically, this night belonged to 
the B-list Panamenistas:  mid-rank party bosses, former 
Moscoso-era mid-level officials and a few hundred average 
Panamenistas.  Ethnically, in a country where darker skin 
complexion remains a significant indicator of social status, 
the crowd that Ameglio drew was primarily from the indigenous 
and Afro-Panamanian communities and included many average, 
darker skinned Panamanians of various mixed backgrounds. 
Economically, Ameglio's crowd was significantly more blue 
collar and middle class than events held by Varela or 
Vallarino.  His programmatic offers were squarely aimed at 
addressing this segment of the population's major concerns: 
economic difficulties, law and order, and greater opportunity 
to share in Panama's economic boom.  It will be interesting 
to see whether Ameglio's constituyente message resonates with 
 
this base that appears more concerned with bread and butter 
issues. 
 
------------- 
Constituyente 
------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Unlike other countries in the hemisphere, Panama did 
not re-write its constitution after the restoration of its 
democracy following over twenty years of military 
dictatorship.  Limited constitutional reforms have been made 
(e.g., outlawing Panama's military), but for the most part 
Panama's constitution remains the constitution established by 
dictator Omar Torrijos.  While Bolivarian inspired leftists, 
mostly contained on the campus of the University of Panama, 
advocate for a Chavez-style constituyente, this kind of 
populist proposal has not gained traction.  Seeing the 
political confrontation that has transpired in Venezuela, 
Bolivia, and elsewhere, Panamanians who generally prefer a 
more consensual style of politics prefer to steer clear of 
classist clashes.  Also, the anti-globalization rhetoric that 
accompanies chavista-style politics is anathema for a country 
that literally lives at and off of one of the world's most 
important crossroads. 
 
¶6. (C) Concerned about re-balancing Panama's 
presidential-centric political system, the Panamenista 
Movement for Action (MAPA), a loose gab-fab primarily 
composed of upper-middle and lower-upper class dentists and 
doctors with little political experience, have slowly 
gravitated over the past year and a half toward embracing a 
constituyente.  MAPA leader Jorge Gamboa, a dentist, told 
POLCOUNS January 9 that a constituyente was the "only way to 
fix what is broken in Panama:  the courts, the national 
assembly, the lack of decentralization."  Gamboa and fellow 
MAPA leader Manuel Cambra, a physician, attended Ameglio's 
speech and were ecstatic at his constituyente proposal. 
Aware of the explosive connotation the word constituyente had 
in Latin America today, Cambra said on January 23, "We have 
to do this and do it in a Panamanian way.  There is no other 
way to truly strengthen our institutions." 
 
¶7. (SBU) Echoing MAPA's sentiment, the president of Panama 
City daily tabloid "El Siglo Ebrahim Asvat, a Harvard-trained 
attorney and President Torrijos' former advisor on strategic 
goals, wrote in his weekly column on January 14, "Every day I 
am more convinced that as a nation we need to travel down the 
road to a constituyente.  I consider it the only way that we 
Panamanians have to guarantee ourselves the governmental 
structure in keeping with thetimes."  Continuing, Asvat 
added, "This (current) centralized system of government and 
of the political parties is carrying us toward a kind of 
oligopoly of power where the political forces reach agreement 
to distribute power and to mete out the sinecures of public 
office."  A constituyente would not be a cure-all, Asvat 
writes, but "would enable Panama to rebuild its political 
institutions."  The work of a constituyente would be to 
"recompose" the judiciary and the legislature as well as to 
reform the civil service, determine the degree to which the 
state should intervene in the economy, strengthen the 
"guarantee for social rights, especially education, health, 
housing, and the retirement and pension system." 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Ameglio is trailing badly in the race to win the 
Panamenista presidential nomination.  His presidential 
aspirations are being crowded out by Juan Carlos Varela and 
Alberto Vallarino, both of whom are better funded and who 
enjoy significant political support from key sectors of the 
party.  Nonetheless, Ameglio may have an impact on the race. 
His 20-month plan is a unique effort to enter into a 
"contract" with his supporters.  Indeed, he released signed 
copies of his proposals that were published the following day 
in major newspapers.  The content is aimed at what the voters 
tell pollsters are their most significant concerns:  the 
economy, law and order, education, transportation, and 
healthcare.  Many economists -- and his competitors for the 
Panamenista presidential nomination -- will take aim at the 
interventionist nature of his economic proposals.  As for the 
constituyente, post will continue to monitor this concept 
that has migrated from Panama's non-traditional left, to the 
doctors and dentists of MAPA, then to the pen of a thoughtful 
and mainstream commentator and now to the proposals of a 
right-of-center politician. 
EATON