PANAMA: MIGUEL ANTONIO BERNAL'S QUEST TO SAVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PANAMA 000014

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, INR/B
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PM SCUL LABOR HUMAN RIGHTSPOLMIL
SUBJECT: PANAMA: MIGUEL ANTONIO BERNAL'S QUEST TO SAVE
UNIVERSITY OF PANAMA


SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION
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1. (SBU) In May 2005, when newspapers reported that the
University of Panama (UP) had issued thousands of false
diplomas, Professor Miguel Antonio Bernal quickly took the
lead in denouncing the school's administration. Bernal went
even further and filed criminal charges against university
rector Gustavo Garcia de Paredes and other university
administrators. Bernal has fought an open battle with UP's
administration for several years. In April 2004, Rector
Garcia attempted unsuccessfully to fire Bernal for publicly
criticizing his management of the university. In September
2005, the university's academic council declared Bernal
"persona non grata" for his statements about the diploma
scandal. Bernal plays the role of a political gadfly well
and is an engaging personality. He has gained celebrity
status in Panama through his radio talk show and frequent
op-ed articles in the national daily "La Prensa." During a
meeting at his law firm's office with PolOff (Bernal no
longer has a university office),Bernal spoke freely about
the university's scandal and called the University of Panama
"the place that teaches the corruption that permeates all
levels of Panamanian society." End summary.


2. (SBU) In the wake of the May 2005 UP diploma scandal,
the government allowed Garcia to conduct his own internal
investigation. Garcia's investigation, not surprisingly,
found that he had no involvement in the issuance of
fraudulent diplomas. Garcia admitted that some students
received diplomas who had not registered and paid for their
final coursework. The Secretary General of the university
resigned following the investigation but is now a full-time
professor at the university. No other university staff were
punished or dismissed. Garcia's continued presence damages
the university's reputation and makes it increasingly
difficult for UP alumni who wish to study in graduate and
professional schools abroad. Bernal claims that his
antagonism to Garcia is not a personal vendetta but an
obligation he feels to his country. Outspoken and
opinionated, Bernal clearly enjoys his notoriety. However,
he is also driven by his vision of the type of nation Panama
could be if the GOP fixed the public university system and
took steps to reduce corruption in the country. Bernal also
believes that failing to repair its educational system will
be disastrous for Panama.

Panama's first Public University
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3. (SBU) Founded as Panama's first public university in
1935, UP's purely academic role was sacrificed following the
1968 military coup. Prior to the coup, UP was the school for
middle class Panamanian students who could not afford to
study abroad. When UP students took their opposition of the
military dictatorship of Omar Torrijos to the streets, the
general closed the university for several months and reopened
it with lower admission standards and reduced fees. Torrijos
described those changes at the time as ensuring education was
available to the poor as well as the rich. The university
reemerged as the nation's center of left-wing politics as
General Torrijos expanded his power base. Politically
disloyal professors and student groups were purged from the
university. The school's reputation and academic standards
and credentials have suffered since that time. Panama's
national university has become just another example of how
corruption is tolerated in Panama, according to Bernal's
analysis.

Fixing the University - Not a Priority
--------------

4. (SBU) Wealthy Panamanian families continue to send their
children abroad for their college education. Current
President Martin Torrijos is one of Panama's many graduates
of Texas A&M University. Panama's Ambassador to the United
States, Federico Humbert attended Notre Dame University.
Since a good education is available to those with the means
to pay for it, fixing the problems of a dysfunctional
university are not a priority for the GOP. However, failing
to create an educational system that works for the country's
middle class, only fuels a shortage of well-trained educators
and technocrats that could help Panama advance as a nation.
Although Panama has conducted a review of their judicial
system this year, nothing has been done to address the
problems at the national university.

An Outspoken Professor, Political Activist, Celebrity
-------------- --------------

5. (SBU) Bernal, 56, has a long history of opposing
corruption and the status quo in Panama. He is a professor
of constitutional law who earned his doctorate in law and
political science from the Sorbonne. As a Fulbright
Professor he taught at Lehigh University, and later Wake
Forest University. He is one of the few internationally
recognized intellectuals in Panama. In 1975, Panama's
military government exiled Bernal because of his open
criticism of their rule. In 1979 while he protested against
the Shah of Iran's presence in Panama, police beat him
severely, resulting in his hospitalization. He is not
currently affiliated with any political party but he
campaigned unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for
mayor of Panama City in 1999. Bernal frequently writes
newspaper articles critical of corruption in Panama and has a
popular radio talk show four days a week. On the streets of
Panama, people recognize him, engage him in conversation, or
shake his hand from their car windows.

Corruption 101 Taught at the University
--------------

6. (SBU) Bernal described Panama as a country with a
corrupt environment: "The government is corrupt, the private
sector is corrupt, and the legal system is corrupt. The
worst corruption is at the University of Panama where they
teach corruption." Bernal is concerned about the integrity
of the university where the majority of Panamanian college
students study. Exuding exasperation he said "If we (the
university) can't prepare the people to run the country, we
are in trouble. The university is going downhill and is
giving diplomas to the undeserving."

No investigation necessary?
--------------

7. (SBU) The lack of a real investigation of the diploma
scandal gives credence to Bernal's comments. In April,
following a confrontation between student groups, Bernal was
given photocopies of bogus diplomas issued by UP. Bernal
informed Panama's Attorney General about the phony diplomas.
When the Public Ministry announced plans to investigate the
awarding of fraudulent diplomas, Rector Garcia closed the
registrar's office and blamed the closure on student
demonstrations against social security reforms. In response
to a subsequent Supreme Court summons, Garcia justified the
closure of the university's records building by explaining an
investigation by the Public Ministry would have violated the
university's "autonomous" status. Garcia announced that an
internal investigation revealed that he had no involvement in
the issuance of fraudulent diplomas. The Secretary General
of the University resigned following the investigation but
now has a full-time university teaching position and serves
as an advisor to the rector. In fact, no one of all the
persons involved in diploma irregularities were punished.
Professor Bernal maintains that hundreds of persons, some of
them now important persons in Panama, including Minister of
Government and Justice (MOGJ) Hector Aleman, have received
fraudulent diplomas from the university.

Rewarding Excellence in Education?
--------------

8. (SBU) In July, two months after the diploma scandal
exploded, Torrijos signed a law granting Garcia increased
authority over faculty tenure decisions and allowing Garcia
to run for reelection as rector for a third time. Bernal
describes Garcia as "someone protected by Panama's
establishment" and blames the university's problems on
elements of the ruling Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD)
that still control the university. With 74,000 students
(2.5% of Panama's population) and 4500 professors UP is a
large institution. Full time students pay only $27 per
semester to attend the school, payable in installments. Many
choose to become "professional students," taking one course
per semester and remain enrolled at the university for years.
The GOP spends approximately $1350 per university student, a
relatively low figure that produces a low-quality education.

Paranoid or brilliant?
--------------

9. (SBU) Bernal sounds somewhat paranoid when he describes
the university's frequent student demonstrations as a
cooperative effort between the GOP and the university. He
cited demonstrations demanding clean-up of former U.S.
military firing ranges that occurred immediately after the
announcement of President Bush's November 2005 visit to
Panama. Student demonstrators threw rocks and molotov
cocktails on the streets near the university and then
retreated into the campus to continue these activities. Some
students used large slingshots to launch stones from the
university onto cars and police on the nearby streets.
Citing the tradition of universities as a place of sanctuary,
the university does not allow the police to enter their
grounds to stop the rock throwing and to arrest students.
After demonstrating, the students eat in university
cafeterias and then leave the campus in a university-provided
bus. Following the anti-Bush demonstrations, however, the
Panamanian National Police (PNP) stopped a bus after it left
the university and arrested six demonstrators. Bernal,
however, believes these arrests were an anomaly on the part
of the PNP and that MOGJ Hector Aleman will not allow these
arrests to continue. (Coincidentally, a group of bank
robbers recently drove their get-away car to UP's congested
campus area prior to abandoning it and fleeing on foot.)

Demonstrations - Government safety valve
--------------

10. (SBU) Bernal also believes the GOP allows violent
student demonstrations to further their own policies. He
feels peaceful demonstrations (as those that occurred in May
and June against social security reforms) would truly hurt
the government. By allowing violent student demonstrations
to occur, the GOP redirects attention towards the students
who are seen as unreasonable by the Panamanian public. Also,
the violent nature of some of these student demonstrations
deters other citizens from joining the demonstrations or
protesting. Bernal maintains that "By closing the streets,
the government can control the demonstrators and prevent real
massive demonstrations. If the real people took to the
street, the government would fall."

Other Problems Exist at UP
--------------

11. (SBU) Bernal also asserts the university's finances are
in trouble but the comptroller of Panama has never
investigated them. Bernal claims lucrative contracts to
operate restaurants and copy centers on the university are
awarded to friends of Garcia. He also maintains that there
are "phantom workers" who are on the school's payroll but do
not work. Humberto Alcache, a handyman who works for the
rector was arrested for stealing computers in 2002 but the
charges against him were dropped. Contracts to operate
Kiosks that sell snack food and copy centers that reproduce
textbooks and student handouts are also awarded to friends of
Garcia.

Inappropriate use of sanctuary?
--------------

12. (SBU) Bernal is particularly bothered by the university
policy that allows violent students to use the university as
a refuge. He told PolOff that the university protection
exists to protect freedom of expression, not criminal acts
and recalled that he had protested against the military
dictatorship without violence. Bernal described typical
student demonstrators as big and strong, unlike the short,
skinny students that make up the majority of the university's
enrollment. He called many of the demonstrators "permanent
students" who have been at the university for 12-15 years and
take a single course each semester to remain enrolled.
Bernal beliefs about university sanctuary differ radically
from university rector Garcia. Following the arrest of the
six students, Garcia called their arrest an abuse of the
autonomy of the university. Bernal also resents the
university being closed periodically because of student
demonstrations. "It hurts the university when it is closed.
It hurts education in Panama. A classroom should always be
open. The university has become a center for political
interests, not academics." (Comment: UP recently reopened
following a week long closure due to student protests.)




Comment: Can UP be saved?
--------------

13. (SBU) Bernal is not sure if the university problems are
solvable. He is concerned about his country's future and
believes Panama needs more contacts with the outside world.
"In the future, Panama may not be able to defend its
interests. Our people aren't ready to assume positions of
responsibility. The telephone company had to hire Spaniards
to work in critical fields like security." He is discouraged
about the role of outside universities in Panama such as
Florida State and Louisville University. In the early 1990s,
Bernal unsuccessfully approached several other American
universities about establishing branches in Panama. "Student
exchanges with American universities, could erase some of the
bad feelings between our countries. The international
scientific community should build centers around the Panama
Canal to protect this environment. Many Panamanians now go
to Canada to learn English. Why not exchange 500 students
between the US and Panama to teach them English and Spanish?"
Bernal calls Panama "an intolerant, closed society that must
open up to the rest of the world. People need to become
involved in the government or another crazy could come to
power in Panama. Populists governments, such as Venezuela,
are dangerous."


14. (SBU) Bernal is more than a self-serving academic. His
academic credentials alone would allow him to live
comfortably in many other developed countries but he is
passionate about Panama. He fears the university's problems
will affect Panama's ability to compete internationally. UP
today lacks modern libraries, laboratories, and computer
equipment as the result of mismanagement and inadequate
budgets. Bernal describes the situation as a disaster for
Panama and a major deterrent to foreign investment. He calls
the university "a place where people learn how to cheat. An
architect or lawyer leaves the university with a diploma he
or she did not really earn, unprepared to do their
professional work." Bernal concludes "The University of
Panama teaches students to be corrupt. If you're not corrupt
in Panama, you are a controversial figure - like me."

EATON