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Does anyone else, who has been to, or read any history of Panama, see the irony in the headline placement of two articles in today's Inside Costa Rica on Panama??


PANAMA
Panamanian President Urges Crackdown On Corruptions
PANAMA - Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli on Thursday urged new General Prosecutor Giuseppe Bonissi to strengthen law enforcement and crack down on all corruptions in the country.

PANAMA
Panamanian President Loses Popularity
PANAMA - The Panamanian government is currently facing a 13-point loss in the popularity of President Ricardo Martinelli, representing the most significant drop since he assumed his post on July, 2009

Irony? Yes, absolutely. But if you curb my opportunities for dinero or fun, you're going to be less popular with me...and "me" seems to include a large swath of the Panamanian population. Good luck to him anyway.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

On the contrary, it doesn't have anything to do with his push to reduce corruption. Since day one, he's been grabbing the hornets nests and spiking them to the ground. The people love him for it and he still enjoys a very high approval rating. I see the drop as a result of two things:

One is the typical drop after someone has been in office a while and their "newness" wears off.

The other is that not all of his campaign promises have been answered yet. People are impatient.

Overall, he is very well liked. Except of course for the very tiny percent of the population who have all the money and control whose toes he's stepping on.

In my personal opinion, I think he's great. Unfortunately, he only has 5 years which is not nearly enough time to make a real difference I don't see anyone following in his footsteps that would be willing to do what he's doing.

On a side note, he chose a subway system as his pet project while he's in office. Construction is supposed to start in July but we'll see.

This is one of those times when I'm glad to be wrong. Thanks JJCastro for setting the record straight.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

This guy has some balls. He's investigated/arrested many former government officials and even has a former president under house arrest.

I keep expecting to pick up the local paper and see that he's been assassinated.