FEW PEOPLE will be able to doubt that President Cortizo and part of his team have worked more in the last two months than some of his predecessors in a whole year.  As in marriage, he applied to run the country through thick and thin; in health and in Covid-19. In this context, it would have been difficult to foresee that the hairy hand of corruption would try - without alcohol gel or latex gloves - to illegitimately take advantage of the much-needed resources to deal with the health crisis. However, before and during the pandemic, the irregularities have pointed to the entourage of Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo. The unpresentable purchase of overpriced fans has not only been a slap in the masked faces of Panamanians, but threatens to completely drain the credibility of the present administration, which had started with several points of advantage, thanks to the half-truths of the previous government. The obviously forced resignation of Juan Carlos Muñoz - Deputy Minister of the Presidency until last Monday -, far from mitigating the undesirable political effects of the now-famous purchases, have fueled the discontent of an important segment of the population, who would have expected the President would turn what happened into an opportunity to indicate the exit door to the Minister of the Presidency.

 We must all keep in mind that to get ahead when we integrate into the new normal, Not only will international loan funds be needed. It will be just as important or more important to have robust and reliable leadership that can guide the country LA PRENSA  May 3