VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0355/01 1262102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 052102Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2011
INFO RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2682
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000355 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD ECON PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: PMG TELLS PRD LEADERSHIP WON'T RUN FOR 
RE-ELECTION 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Luis Arreaga.  Reasons:  1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
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Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Panamanian National Assembly President Pedro Miguel 
Gonzalez (PMG) informed President Martin Torrijos in writing 
on May 4 of his "irrevocable decision to decline any 
aspiration on his part to preside over the National Assembly 
as of September 1."  (Note:  PMG remains under U.S. federal 
indictment in conjunction with the 1992 murder of a U.S. 
serviceman.)  First VP and FM Samuel Lewis provided Charge a 
copy of this letter on May 4.  The letter was addressed to 
Torrijos in his capacity as Secretary General of the 
governing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD).  PMG is the 
PRD CEN 2nd Sub-Secretary.  On May 4, previewing this news 
with POLCOUNS, PRD National Executive Committee (CEN) 5th 
Sub-Secretary Rodrigo "Rod" Diaz said that the PRD would 
begin the process of looking for a new National Assembly 
President and hoped to have identified PMG's successor by 
late June/early July.  Washington should gird itself for a 
full-court press by the Panamanians led by President Torrijos 
to move the U.S.-Panama TPA forward for congressional action. 
 End summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Torrijos:  Washington Visit to Promote TPA 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) The purpose of the visit to Washington was "to promote 
the trade agreement with the United States," President 
Torrijos announced as he departed a ceremony at which he 
signed a contract with Caterpillar to establish a Caterpillar 
facility at the former Howard U.S. Air Force Base outside 
Panama City.  Lewis passed a copy of PMG's letter to Charge 
on the margins of this event.  Answering journalists 
questions, Torrijos commented that PMG would not run for 
reelection as President of the National Assembly. 
 
------------------------ 
Choosing PMG's Successor 
------------------------ 
 
¶3. (C) PRD CEN 5th Sub-Secretary Rodrigo "Rod" Diaz told 
POLCOUNS on May 4 that the CEN had unanimously agreed that 
PMG would not run for re-election as President of the 
National Assembly.  Diaz underscored the unanimity of the 
decision, noting that PMG, the CEN's 2nd Sub-Secretary, had 
supported the decision as well.  Diaz explained that the PRD 
National Assembly deputies, who hold 45 of the chambers 75 
seats, would begin the process of selecting a successor to 
PMG.  "We hope to have selected a new National Assembly 
President by the end of June or early July," Diaz said. "We 
don't want to leave this hanging until a couple of weeks 
before the National Assembly is re-opened on September 1 as 
we did last year."  (Note:  Given the PRD's dominance of the 
legislature, PRD deputies can hand pick the chamber's 
president.) 
 
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The Letter 
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¶4. (SBU) Begin text of unofficial translation: 
 
Panama, May 4, 2008 
Comrade 
Martin Torrijos Espino 
Secretary General 
Democratic Revolutionary Party 
 
Esteemed comrade: 
 
This letter's purpose is to state to the party's directorate 
my irrevocable decision to decline any aspiration to preside 
over the National Assembly starting next September 1. 
Therefore, I consider it necessary that the National 
Executive Committee assess the possibility of bringing 
forward the selection of our party's proposal for late June 
or early July. 
 
As it is known, our party is immersed in the selection 
process of our candidacies to all popularly elected positions 
for next year's general elections and, although we have not 
adopted a formal decision, we have agreed in principle to 
carry out this exercise during the month of August.  Due to 
various reasons, I think it would be most prudent to 
differentiate the timing of both exercises, so we may prevent 
as much as possible, that the competition for national 
leadership positions be reflected internally in our party at 
the moment of making such an important decision. 
 
Thanking my party for the support that it provided me during 
the difficult moments that I faced when assuming such an 
important responsibility and with the satisfaction of having 
endured with determination and steadfastness the attacks to 
our sovereignty and democratic institution, I remain, 
 
/signed/ 
Pedro Miguel Gonzalez Pinzon 
Third Deputy Secretary (Sub-Secretary) General 
 
cc:  Members of the National Executive Committee 
 
End text of unofficial translation. 
 
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Comment 
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¶4. (C) Torrijos is clearly striving to remove PMG as an 
impediment to U.S. congressional action on the pending 
U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) on the eve of his 
May 5-8 visit to Washington.  Washington audiences can expect 
to hear that now that the PMG issue has been resolved, the 
U.S.-Panama TPA should be moved to the Hill, including 
jumping the queue ahead of the U.S.-Colombia TPA.  To the 
best of post's knowledge, a written promise not to run for 
election or re-election is unprecedented in Panamanian 
politics.  In securing this extraordinary written commitment 
from PMG, Torrijos is hoping to breath new life into this 
marquee objective for his administration in the hope of 
seeing the TPA implement before he leaves office on July 1, 
2009, but more ideally before Panama's May 3, 2009 general 
elections.  Washington should gird itself for a full-court 
press by the Panamanians to move the U.S.-Panama TPA forward 
for congressional action. 
ARREAGA