Today was the first day of summer vacation. Grades had to be submitted by 3pm yesterday afternoon. That’s right, Memorial Day. Fortunately, I entered my final grades Sunday night so I got to enjoy the parade and pool on Monday. On day one of summer vacation, I spent an hour and a half in a College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Meeting, three hours completing half of my CITI training so that I am qualified to carry out interviews in San Salvador this summer (just nine more modules to go!), and then some time wishing farewell to some colleagues who will be missed. We have 42 staff members retiring at the end of the week, which is pretty large for an institution our size, and are not sure how many will be replaced.
So here are a few articles from Panama and Nicaragua to get you going today. The Los Angeles Times has In Panama, corruption inquiries grow after president’s tenure ends and NPR has Accusations Pile Up Against Panama’s Former President. The LA Times article is more extensive and worth a quick look.
Like many, Barria initially supported Martinelli, who won election with 60% of the vote, and thought that because he was already so rich that he would not be tempted to stick his hand into the till. Wrong, Barria and others have now concluded; politics was big business for Martinelli, these critics say.
Martinelli also stacked the courts and other key government institutions in a bid to shield himself from scrutiny and change the constitution to allow him to run for reelection. Although his attempt to make it possible to run for reelection failed, he did handpick his party’s candidate, who lost to Juan Carlos Varela, the president now pushing for many of the corruption inquiries.
I guess one of the differences between Martinelli and Guatemala’s Perez Molina is that in Martinelli’s case, “He did a lot, he stole a lot.” There’s not much to look at with regards to Perez Molina. The economy continues to grow at ~3.5% per year and the murder rate continues to decline, but he has squandered what I thought was a good opportunity when elected.
And then there is Nicaragua’s first lady is a powerful partner of president from the LA Times.
Once a revolutionary poet of modest success, Murillo today is Nicaragua’s most powerful woman and, in the opinion of many, essentially a co-president with her husband. The arrangement, opponents say, allows the first couple to consolidate power and wealth and rule the country like a personal fiefdom.
Like Martinelli, the Ortega’s get some pass because of economic growth and low rates of violence. However, like Martinelli, that might not last forever.
