TORRIJOS APPEALS TO PUBLIC FOR CANAL EXPANSION

UNCLAS PANAMA 001726

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PM
SUBJECT: TORRIJOS APPEALS TO PUBLIC FOR CANAL EXPANSION
SUPPORT

REF: PANAMA 866

SUMMARY
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1. (U) President Torrijos urged the Panamanian people to
take advantage of the "unique and possibly irrepeatable"
opportunity of the October 22 Canal expansion referendum in
his September 1 "state of the nation"- like address.
Torrijos called on Panamanians to vote according to what was
best for the country, not politics, stating that his support
for the expansion project was purely for the benefit of the
nation. Torrijos's speech, delivered at the opening of the
National Assembly's fall session, detailed a litany of public
projects in the education, health, and security sectors,
including a new capacity building program to benefit 200,000
people, to be funded by $55 million in Canal revenues. END
SUMMARY.

TORRIJOS: A MAN WITH A PLAN AND A CANAL REFERENDUM
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2. (U) Torrijos focused overwhelmingly on garnering support
for the October 22 Canal referendum. He opened by
"congratulating" the National Assembly for its "patriotic"
unanimous approval of the law for the Canal expansion vote, a
jab at the Panamenista and Molirena parties that have since
assumed ambiguous to opposition positions.


3. (U) The President spoke at length about the significance
of the referendum calling it a decision more important than
even a presidential election. The referendum should be seen
as "an opportunity for the nation" and "in no way used as a
political platform or electoral thermometer" to measure the
government's performance, said Torrijos. (Comment: This
statement clearly refers to the common belief that voters
will vote based on their view of the GOP, not how they feel
about the expansion project itself. As the "yes" vote margin
dips in polls, the "punishment vote" effect raises concerns
for the GOP. End Comment.) Torrijos asserted, "Neither the
GOP, the PRD, nor Martin Torrijos is searching for political
gains through the Canal expansion."


4. (U) Torrijos also appealed to nationalism, stating it was
time to show the world that Panamanians were indeed in
control of its own Canal, something the nation owed itself
after "fighting for 100 years" to "reclaim" the Canal.
Torrijos also mentioned the "youth who died" fighting for
Panama's control of the Canal, a pointed reference to the
1964 protest at the Canal Administration building during
which U.S. forces killed several Panamanian students
participating in an attempt to raise a Panamanian flag.

BIG PLANS FOR EDUCATION, HEALTH, SECURITY
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5. (U) Besides addressing the merits of Canal expansion,
Torrijos detailed various GOP projects in education, health,
and security, including:

a) providing $600 million in education funds,
b) granting 23,000 student scholarships,
c) cleaning the Bay of Panama,
d) building additional hospitals,
e) constructing the long-awaited Panama City-Colon highway,
f) building a potable water plant (Comment: The week before,
major news outlets reported a serious lack of potable water
in certain communities. End Comment.)
g) expanding the North and South highways, and
h) bringing additional police presence to the streets. On
September 6, the GOP announced the purchase of 81 new patrol
cars.

(Comment: When addressing health issues, Torrijos singled out
Cuba's Operacion Milagro for praise and did not mention
assistance from any other country, despite the large
contingent of diplomatic observers in the gallery. End
Comment.) Torrijos's discussion of the various projects fit
under his theme of fighting poverty, building trust in
government, and leading Panama into the first world. The
underlying thrust of Torrijos's message, though, was that the
best way to benefit the country and fight poverty was through
Canal expansion.



6. (U) One of the most notable projects Torrijos mentioned
was the proposal to train 200,000 Panamanians as mechanics,
electricians, and other technical workers, using $55 million
in Canal revenue. This capacity building project would be
the first program to visibly use Canal earnings to benefit
the larger public. The program would begin next year.
(Comment: The announcement of this project is aimed at
addressing a common criticism voiced by "No" vote groups who
claim the Canal's revenues benefit only the rich, not average
Panamanians. However, given that this program would begin
next year, it remains to be seen whether yet another GOP
promise will sway undecided voters to the "Yes" column. As
with the GOP's newfound desire to pursue a "National
Development Plan," voters may well greet this latest set of
promises with a healthy dose of skepticism (Septel). End
Comment.)

ASSEMBLY REELECTS CASTILLO AS PRESIDENT
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7. (U) Prior to Torrijos's address, the National Assembly
elected its new president and two vice-presidents. Incumbent
President Elias Castillo (PRD) was reelected, while Susanna
Richards de Torrijos (PRD and President Torrijos's aunt) was
elected as first vice-president and Jorge Alvarado (PRD) as
second vice-president. The opposition parties fielded
candidates for all three elections, but there appeared to be
little unity among the opposition parties as many opposition
legislators voted for PRD candidates. (Comment: The
Panamenista and Cambio Democratico parties put women forward
as their candidates for National Assembly President. This
may be interpreted as an optimistic sign on the participation
of women in politics or as the parties' attempt to draw
attention in an election where the opposition candidates were
unlikely to win given the PRD majority. It was also
noteworthy that several legislators, in voicing their support
for one of the women candidates, made more mention of her
physical beauty than her leadership abilities or other
qualifications. End Comment.)

Comment
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8. (SBU) From the logistics of the National Assembly
elections, where many legislators chose to precede their
votes with commentaries in favor or against Canal expansion,
to the president's impassioned pleas to the Panamanian people
"to do what's right for the country," the event focused
heavily on the upcoming referendum. It is too early to tell
whether Torrijos's latest call for support for the national
(vice partisan) project to expand the Canal, his appeal to
patriotism, or newly announced social projects will stem
erosion of support for Canal expansion and allow Torrijos to
strengthen the "yes" vote. Given that he offered up similar
appeals in announcing the project last April (reftel),voters
may well discount this latest call as more of the same. The
referendum remains the overarching, indeed sole, focus of
Torrijos.

ARREAGA