You can say about Panama's education authorities what you want, but not that they're not fair in distributing the general misery equally among students. Every effort is being made to ensure that the few schools in the interior of our country that are actually open will be closed too, if only temporarily.

Take for example the José María Roy school in David, Chiriqui. Students were enjoying uninterrupted classes for months now - a situation that, given the fact that other schools in the province are still closed because of contamination or decay, could in all fairness not last. So our ever-vigilant police force just teargassed the fuckers! That resulted in lots of sick and vomiting pupils, and the school had to be closed as the poisonous gasses wafted through the hallways. Justice has been done. Equality for all!

Are Brazilians smarter than Torrijos?

Ever been to Brazil? Economically, it's not that different from Panama. GNP per capita is in the same league. Income disparity is as bad there as it is here.

But why then, is it that we have buses that fall apart, buses that blow up in Via España or crash in demolition derbies on the Transistmica while in for example the Brazilian city of Curitiba - roughly the same size as Panama City - they have one of the most advanced public transport systems in the world? Can you explain that? In other words, who in your government - and the previous ones - of robber barons and Noriega drinking buddies isn't doing his job? And why is Bimbin only now talking about a metro after ignoring the problems for ten years?

Another question. Here's an interesting statistic for you. Panama has 500 policemen per 100,000 citizens. That is MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE AMERICAS. Costa Rica is a good second with 465 cops/100,000, and the US is fourth with 326. I found that in the 2007 UN report "Crime and Development in Central America". So here's the question: Why do we need more police? Aren't these figures a clear indication that if we have a crime and security problem in Panama, Mirones, Delgado Diamante and the other chieftains aren't doing their jobs? It can't be that they're short on manpower.

Not enough police in the street? That's because, we were told, some units are protecting family members of government people. Witnesses saw two wives buying cheese in San Carlos with a full police unit "protecting" them.