Another Look at Panama’s New Mayor – In my last column I wrote about Panama City’s new mayor, Bosco Vallarino, and the controversies that have befallen him since he took over the job in mid-July. A friend wrote me last week and told me that I had been too hard on the new mayor, that what he was doing was no worse no better than most politicians. It was just that the new mayor was new to politics – he had built his career in publicity, not politics wrote my friend. He deserved a chance before people heaped criticism on him. And after all it was fun to read about how crazy the new mayor was from afar – my friend is Panamanian but is studying in the U.S. northeast. Most people agree the new mayor is a little crazy. After President Martinelli criticized the mayor for not collecting trash in certain sectors of the city by walking past huge piles of trash and pointing at them, the mayor decided he needed to show people he was serious about being mayor. So the day after the trash criticism, the mayor appeared in one of the large national newspapers, holding a large mosquito smoker (identical to a leaf blower) bent over with a surgeon’s mask covering his face, and smoking some weeds that were growing below a concrete wall. He was dressed in black with a black polo shirt. Read more

Panamanian Politicians being criticized, Latin America is pulling out of recession, the top schools in Panama - In my column two weeks ago, I was very critical of the poor performance of Panama City’s new Mayor, Bosco Vallarino. Then in last week’s column, I wrote that the new Mayor should be given a chance to prove himself before everyone heaps criticism on him. In this week’s column, I’ve decided to be neither sympathetic nor critical of the new Mayor, rather I’ve decided that I wouldn’t want to be the new Mayor. Why? Because the new Mayor of Panama City has had 15% of his salary sequestered by the courts in Panama. Juan Carlos Navarro, the Mayor before Vallarino, sued Vallarino for slander after Vallarino accused Navarro of being a “narco-Mayor” on a television program in March 2009. Navarro will receive $121,030 from Vallarino´s salary as compensation for slander. Navarro has a number of other suits pending in the courts against Vallarino. Read more

Latest on Bosco Vallarino, immigration officials deporting foreigners with expired visas and more – Panama City’s mayor, Bosco Vallarino was hospitalized this past week for three days. He was given an additional three days to rest at home and plans to be back on the job by the 14th of December. Vallarino is no doubt suffering from a bout of exhaustion as he tries to pull together his flagship project, La Vía Navideña, and at the same time, prepares to face down the anti-corruption prosecutor over the $4,000 municipal check that was written to his wife. Hopefully, with the arrival of the New Year, some semblance of normalcy will return to the mayor’s office. Read more