A stride toward justice

by Libertad Ciudadana (Panama’s chapter of Transparency International)

In this historic moment in the anti-corruption struggle through which the republic lives, the announcement made on August 1 by the nation’s attorney general, Kenia Porcell, that this past July 26 she signed an agreement for effective cooperation with the Odebrecht company, is a necessary step toward attaining justice.

With this agreement there begins the handover of information for which all of Panamanian society awaits. This will lead to effective investigations by the Public Ministry in the course of this inquiry into the conduct of three administrations, which cannot be put off.

From now on we insist that the Attorney General’s office maintain a flow of communication, which will generate an accompanying civic vigilance. We want to see not only fines and frozen money, if we are not to be witnesses to impunity in the end, by way of knowing the terms of the accord and evaluating its benefits for the country.

Taking into account that the administration of justice is composed of both the Public Ministry’s investigative phase and the trial phase before the courts, we demand that both institutions fulfill their roles, so that there are strictly legal trials of all those who were involved, so that the criminal schemes that were used are known and that the proper restitution is made.

In case information exists that includes officials with special immunities, we expect that this will be sent to the proper institution, whether it’s the National Assembly or the Supreme Court, that these will be resolved by persons uninvolved in the Odebrecht corruption scheme and free of conflicts of interest, and that all of those responsible account for their actions — whoever may fall!

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