REMEMBER the Paitilla park land deal? It went something like this. Piece of land, reclaimed from the sea and owned by the state, in Paitilla, mysteriously ends up in hands of poor florist. Then it mysteriously ends up in the hands of the gentlemen Btesh and Virzi, who are buddies and business partners with Ricardo Martinelli in all kinds of murky schemes. Then La Prensa found out about it, so they all got really angry with La Prensa for screwing up their deals.
The land now back in the hands of the state, it was decided that it would be turned into a park. So they spent a bunch of money on that, and then it was time for the festive opening.
Entered the scene Mayin Correa. Former mayor, and then governor of the province of Panama. Formerly sucking up to Manuel Antonio Noriega; now Martinelli's bitch. Someone who gives new meaning and depth to the terms "opportunist" and "hypocrite". And, oh yes, she also likes to sling antisemitic slurs at journalists, calling Flor Mizrachi of La Prensa a "litle jewgirl from the Gestapo." Indeed: This woman is a serious case.
Since for some mysterious reason the province had paid for the new park, Correa spoke at the opening ceremony which was attended by Martinelli's wife and a collection of other hot shots. Wrote La Prensa in one of the best opening paragraphs I've seen there last year (translation by us):
"In the absence of President Martinelli but with a member of the presidential guard taking pictures of journalists and strong smells of feces and ocean wafting over the crowd, the National Government inaugurated the Mirador Paitilla park. "With the lights switched on, you will believe to be in Paris," an emotional Mayin Correa told journalists before the inauguration began."
After the ceremony, the fresh little piece of Paris on the banks of Panama's open sewage system was quickly abandoned, and lots of people complained about the deplorable state of the facilities.
So, with Martinelli and Correa all gone, was that the end of the story then? Nope. Because it turned out today that the park wasn't really called Mirador Paitilla after all, but shows up in the official registries as parque Mayín Correa. Nobody knows how that happened, except of course Mrs. Correa herself, but she doesn't answer her phone any more after initially blowing off the La Prensa journalist who asked her about it.
Vice-mayor Raisa Banfield announced that it will be investigated how the park got its name and that Mrs. Correa may very well lose bragging rights over it.
There was, according to La Prensa, a widely supported idea to name the park after ex-president Endara, but we think it's an insult to name such a foul-smelling abandoned place after someone who actually defied Noriega instead of sucking up to him.
May we humbly suggest that we leave the name as it is, the Mayin Correa park, as a monument to empty-headed vanity and corruption? What's more, we'd propose a statue of Mrs. Correa, her wrinkly old ass nude and squatting near the riverbank to take a dump. And then in the evening, when they switch the lights on, it will feel just like Panama.
The expats are making it hard for the real serious investors to settle down and enjoy the area without the constant noise about crime and fraud! Been here 50 year, did my thing in building my place, and continue to enjoy Panama, especially, San Carlos area. If you listan to the expats, you are waisting you time! All they do is look out for themselves!
Been there…( Panama…32 yrs-2mos-29days)…Done (with) all that! Believe me…folks…I know Panama pretty well. I am NOT an expat…who lives there now. I would bet my last Swedish Krona…that Panama has seen it’s best times.. especially as far as the working people of Panama are concerned. The “rabi-blanc0” mentality…is all too alive and well in Panama. The “clique” that controls it ALL…are the most selfish,backstabbing, deceitful, dishonest crowd…I have ever had the opportunity to watch in action!.. I am a Swedish-American ..1st Generation. Spent most of my formative years on ships…learning bout the shipping/merchant marine business from my dad…who was a ChiefEngineer …so that old Swede had ALOT of good sayings/reason/logic when it comes/came …to evaluating a place/thing/person/situation. He always told my brother and myself…”About 80% of what you hear is Bull-shit…then there is the other 20%…Well half of that which you actually SEE…is bull-shit too(usually concocted to swindle/scam/deprive/rip-off)…only there as a bogus ‘shell game”…IF you are lucky …maybe you actually will see/hear/read-about or personally KNOW of something that is left in that 10%…of things that are NOT ..BS( _ull-_hit_)…And if it comes from the mouth of a politician…watch your back…AND your wallet!.. Never truer words were ever spoken…especially for this day and time we live in on this planet! His favorite thing about Panama…his consummate statement about what he saw: “Show me…you can just PICK UP THE GARBAGE…keep your city and country Clean… then maybe we can talk about all these other grand ideas/schemes/projects …you have in mind…here.
I truly feel great sympathy for the average Panamanian family…because the “rabi-crowd”…could care less about anyone ..other than themselves and their Club Union parties…and fake charity fund raising schemes!.. Hasta la vista…baby… Panama you are DONE…you just don’t know it yet!!
Venezuela is what it is today as a result of their rabi blancos but they blame Chavez………..
It was resentment against rabi blanco’s that fuelled the Chavez revolution. That idiot only made it a bigger mess. You can’t make your country better by replacing one criminal elite with another, even dumber one. Less elite is the way to go, but it only works when people start taking responsibility for themselves first before looking upwards to beg or to blame.