Security In Panama - And The Presidential Election
(offshorewave.com) When I first came to Panama I never worried about my physical security; the country was very quiet fourteen years ago and you didn’t need to worry when walking around Panama City late at night. And you certainly didn’t have to worry about security in the countryside. The petty crime that went on was mostly small time and harmless. The level of crime has spiked upwards over the last year, but Panama has had crime waves in the past: I remember in the years 2000-2002 there was a huge crime wave that eventually passed. I was robbed at gunpoint during those years; scared the shit out of me – it happened only two weeks after 9/11. As bad as the robbery was for me, my Panamanian friends used to crack jokes about it. They saw it as a common occurrence; many of my friends had been robbed in much the same way as me: they knew the terrible feeling of being robbed at gunpoint. Making fun of my robbery experience was a way of lessening its impact – they were right, the joking did lessen the robbery’s impact on me. Panamanian friends told me that if you really want to be scared then go to Colombia or Venezuela. When I met Colombians or Venezuelans socially I was always surprised to find out how many had lost a husband or a wife to stick ups or break-ins. It was hard in large countries like Colombia and Venezuela to create conditions of security; to protect citizens and know who was carrying out small-scale crime. Lately, Panama has had been faced with the same kinds of problems found in larger Latin American countries like Venezuela and Colombia.
After the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, security companies sprouted up all over Panama. Many Panamanian military officers opened up security companies as the military was now gone under the new democratic government of Panama. Democracy meant a different kind of security in Panama from the military dictatorships. It meant that in every office, in every pharmacy and in many restaurants, there was someone with a gun watching the place to make sure everything was secure. Security meant private security; you bought security by hiring a company; it was not provided by the state. People were now more responsible for their security than in the past. Today people are finding different ways to create a new sense of security now that Panama has less of it.
One way that people are creating a sense of security for themselves is by building walls around their houses. Many people are building a Berlin Wall around their house. The walls are sometimes not finished or painted. These walls look garish against the natural beauty of Panama, but they are very popular. Some people use barbwire with their wall. Razor wire is really what it is, not barbed wire. They loop it on top of their wall like in a prison. In the newer more modern housing in Panama you find a lot of walls. The houses are made for walls. The houses are architecturally the same and they are built around a circular central park area that has an ornate gazebo and playground for kids. But all the houses are separated by walls. The communities are advertised as secure and that’s because they are walled in. No one in Panama is naïve enough to think that a wall is really going to keep anyone out, but they figure if there’s a wall around my house and not one around the house down the street, then the robbers will hit the house down the street – this is why walls start to multiply in neighborhoods.
Another way of creating a sense of security in Panama is to buy a gun. In Panama if you want to carry a gun make sure you get a permit, because if you don’t and you shoot someone or shoot at someone with no permit you will pay dearly for it. To get a permit straight up is very hard and expensive. There’s a class you can take that lowers the price and you get the permit with the class. A weapon in the house is not a bad idea but if you shoot someone make sure they are in your house, not running away from your house – if you shoot someone on the street after they’ve robbed you you’ll have real troubles with the police. Guns are OK but like a swimming pool, they are very dangerous if you have young kids.
Of course, if you don’t like walls or guns you can buy an attack dog as a way of creating a sense of security for yourself. Attack dogs in Panama are not well treated and they can be very dangerous, especially when one is mistakenly let out or somehow escapes from his home. This is one danger of having an attack dog: if the dog attacks the innocent child, jogger or retiree. While out taking walks in Panama, I‘ve been chased, lightly-bitten and barked at a few times by attack dogs. Attack dogs are usually German Shepard’s or Pit Bulls. Many attack dogs are poisoned by people that fear their children will be bit by the dog.
Another way people like to secure themselves is by living high up in apartment blocks. Many people prefer to live in a high-rise rather than a house. It’s easier to leave an apartment than a house. And security wise you have the guard at the front and no one can break in through the windows. Of course people fear they might be thrown off their balcony if someone breaks in.
Other people in Panama have gotten very security-minded, they have dogs, fences, guns and go so far as electric fences, security guards as well as security systems with cameras and microphones. Having so much security of course can be very intimidating to people who aren’t used to it. Architecturally security is almost always terrible. Security is also loud. And it’s expensive. In Panama security is really something for the rich; poor people can’t protect themselves from crime with expensive security – they try not to be targets by being innocuous and hidden.
Elections In Panama
The election is now two months away and both candidates are showing signs of fatigue – their message is now out, they’re hoping it will win over voters. Panama is startng to catch the virus of the worldwide recession. The growth rate decresed though the latest numbers have growth at 6%. The slowing economy should help the campaign of presidential candidate Ricardo Martinelli. Martinelli has betrayed himself as a better economic thinker than Balbina Herrera. Matinelli is a businessman who owns a popular line of supermarkets in Panama called Super 99; he also has a number of other businesses that are in food or retail. As a businessman most people see him as a better economic manager. Balbina has countered this by saying her rise from poverty to leader of the PRD party allows her to understand the economic difficulties people face across Panamanian society.
The economy of Panama is now completely globalized. Lots of business people that I’ve talked to over the years in Panama tell me their business closed or shrank when globalization hit in the mid-90s. Most made simple products like powdered-soups, canned tomato sauce or pasta for the local market. When the competition from outside came they were forced to stop producing or became feeder companies to large multinationals like Knorr or Lipton. The new generation of Panamanian businessmen are almost all deeply involved in the global market; the local economy is only a small part of their business. The only part of Panama’s economy that has fought globalization with any energy is the agricultural side of the economy. The farmers have tried to have tariffs raised on imported beef and rice. But the agricultural sector is small in Panama; in the future it will become larger as the price of commodities rise. The Panamanian government offers many incentives to investors who are interested in starting agricultural businesses.
Campaigns
Dirty campaigning is also part of the campaign season. Dirt in a Panamanian campaign is someone’s past political connections, someone’s dirty deal with a shady character or money corruption. Sex and drugs are never discussed. Alluded to but never discussed. Messing around on your spouse won’t disqualify you from the presidency in Panama. No one in Panama would hold that against you. The Martinelli and Balbina campaigns are going after each other. The PRD – Balbina’s party - wants to show Martinelli and running partner Juan Carlos Varela as total clowns. By betraying them as irresponsible and foolish the PRD hopes to cut their large lead. Martinelli’s campaign has betrayed Balbina Herrera as a person with a dark past and a dictatorial streak. She would force all of Panama to be obedient to her will is the message Martinelli is crafting to discredit Balbina. Will they be friends in the end? I doubt it. No matter what happens in the election you can be sure these two truly hate one another.
