Politics in Panama

Just a few minutes ago, the Lovely Mona and I were standing about in the kitchen, preparing supper, when we hear a lotta noise. I glanced out the window in the front door and saw the gleaming visage of Gabriel Méndez, or "Tio Gabriel" (Uncle Gabe) on a truck. Señor Gabriel, or Tío, is running for Deputy in the Legislature for the PRD or Partido Revolucionario Democratico (Revolutionary Democratic Party, started by General Omar Torrijos), the party presently in power. I find the name "Tío" funny because everyone knows that your uncle will take care of any governmental problem you may have. They were holding a little parade in our neighborhood. We heard all the noise and then realized we needed to snap some fótos. Then, amazingly, we saw Tío Gabriel hissef coming out of the likkle park in front of our house!! YAY!! PRD!! Okay, they're terrible, but not as bad as the Arnofistas, named after Arnulfo Ariás, a man elected president THREE TIMES AND NEVER COMPLETED A TERM and as corrupt as the Republican Party en los Estados Unidos de América.

The election will be next year, so we're working on what we would call "primaries"back in the States. Panamanians will be electing a new president, a new mayor of Panama City, and lots of deputies. The PRD candidates for president so far are Juan Carlos Navarro, present Mayor of Panama (whom I've met and actually reconises me) and Balbina Herrara de Periñan, who was active in the Noriega administration and you may recognize if you've seen Panama Deception, which Canon Walter Smith and I show to all participants in the Panama Project during their orientation so they'll understand what the heck is going on here. You know, no matter how bad it gets here, no one has shot up a church because it's full of liberals, and no one has killed the local head of a political party; that kind of stuff is for that Beacon of Democracy, the U.S.A. ¡ Señor, tenipiedad! Lord, have mercy! Sinembargo, here are some fótos;


The parade



One lone marcher


More marchers (showing tummies. I likes dem tummies.)




Yikes! ¡Es Tío Gabriel!


Some literature we received



Tail end of the Parade