A day like today, 50 years ago, the clock of the flimsy Panamanian democracy stopped. A handful of National Guard officers broke with the constitutional order, violated the law, curtailed citizen rights such as freedom of expression and partisan political participation.

 We do not know the truth about all the dead and disappeared of the military regime. Justice has not been done for the crimes of the dictatorship nor for the gigantic embezzlements that preceded those that today frighten us. The soul of Panamanians has not recovered from the military dictatorship. Clientelism and paternalism are legacies that persecute us even today. The military knew how to exploit the vices of Creole politics, and within those cracks, they built their regimes. Although the clock of the democracy resumed the march, the institutionality walks slowly. Old and new vices of Panamanian politics, as well as the lack of historical memory, can spread the disease that plagues Latin America. Panama does not need new leaders, but more citizens who love and love freedom, outline the values of democracy and commit to justice.- LA PRENSA. Oct. 11.

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