BLACK SATURDAY – Martinelli needs to go

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As you can see, these people are dangerous and need to be beaten up, killed and arrested.

In the ten years that yours truly has been reporting about Panamanian events, there has never been anything like what we've been witnessing today: Children arrested, babies killed, mass arrests, police brutality, blatant violations of every human right on the book, and a government incapable of managing a situation that has rapidly spun out of control.

Minister of the presidency Papadimitriu has been in Changuinola for days now, unable to reach an agreement with angry activists who want the "sausage law" repealed. Although he just announced the possibility of "white smoke" within hours, he was not allowed to finish speaking when he climbed a pick-up truck this afternoon and, after announcing that the riot police would be withdrawn, he left the scene:

Unions have declared a national strike starting Tuesday (Monday according to some) and there is no reason to believe the unrest will stop. People are understandably angry about their loved ones being shot, beaten up, arrested arbitrarily and so on. In the Ancon police headquarters, 300 people are still being detained, without access to a lawyer, Raisa Banfield posted on Facebook.

Martinelli needs to go.

If he thinks he can ask Bosco the Clown to resign over just the garbage problem, surely we can ask our narco-president the same over several deadly victims, many dozens hurt, and gross violations of civic rights? Go! Now! Maybe you'll still make it to the World Cup final!

This useless impostor, this grocery charlatan, has been incapable to govern this country in any mature and responsible fashion. If you want to reform the labor code, you sit down with the unions and negotiate a deal. If you want to change environmental laws, you consult with all those involved. If you change legal protection, you make sure it is within the realms of the constitution and international treaties. But not Martinelli. The bipolar lunatic style of governing he and his team of frauds have deployed from the beginning has plunged the country into chaos, caused irreparable damage to its people, its institutions and its reputation. And he seems not even interested, reluctantly canceling his date with that other mafioso, Silvio Berlusconi.

He needs to go. Or the Panameñistas, if they have any decency left at all in their asses after a year of assuming the 99 position, should send him away. Or otherwise, will the people do it? I wouldn't be surprised. They're angry enough.

9 thoughts on “BLACK SATURDAY – Martinelli needs to go

  1. Did someone say it went well???
    Yep, he sure looks in control and super thrilled to be here – I bet he has never slummed it out like these like few days. Very impressive indeed.
    Did he say the president will come???!!!!
    And I guess these people are not too hot too trot as far as freeing up the streets eh? I CANT wait for Martinelli to come. I just CANT wait

  2. Thank you very much to clearly comunincate what is happening in Panama to those who cannot understand spanish. Nowaday it´s not the same like in the past, people at least have internet due to the biased of the newspapers´ information.

  3. This has been too organized for a group of common proletarian with a deep feeling case and fear against government policies!

    The forces and maneuvers are too common to the tactics of Mexican and Colombian Drug cartels and gangs.

    This is also very typical of the tactics use by the Tongs, MS13, Crips and Blood gangs( Northern Mexico at the Southern US Boarder & LA & DC)!

    Also a very favor tactic of about every Insurrection and Revolutionary type groups like the Viet Cong, Red Brigade and Al-Qaeda to name a few.

    What next an attack styled like Mumbai(Bombay)??

    With the US Air Force Units split between the Boarders of Costa Rica and Columbia, now 3000 or more Marines now located in Costa Rica.

    What do you suppose is really going on???

    As usual the Panamanian Government does not have a clue?

    The So called National Police have all these suspiciously trained ant-drug and anti-terrorist Boarder units(around 500 policemen involved)!

    Where are they now?

    “Panama where the numbers never add up”

  4. I will go to the mundial, ooops, maybe I wont
    We will NOT change the law…ooops…well, maybe we will…
    And all thanks to a few indigenous campesinos in Bocas – restores my faith in human kind and democratic process
    So Santiago, I guess Varela is hedging his bet…the Panamenistas are waking up.
    White Sunday (is there such a thing?)

  5. Well FromBocas, let´s see…
    I heard there is an apparent split within the Cabinet—

    I still don´t see white smoke but I know they have realized they cannot manage the country as a “Finca”.-

    And Dr Dias, this is inly the results of a political rookies handling routine crisis. They missed “Crisis Management 101” Class.

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