Caribbean & Central America - November 2014 (ISSN 1741-4458)

The recent decision by Panama’s 71-member unicameral legislature to suspend supreme court (CSJ) magistrate, Alejandro Moncada Luna, an ally of former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), so that he can be investigated for alleged corruption, is one of various moves setting President Juan Carlos Varela at odds with his predecessor. The new Partido Panameñista (PPA)-led government, which took office on 1 July, is trumpeting it as the latest in a string of efforts to crack down on official corruption [RC-14-10].

The 20 October vote by the legislature came after it admitted a complaint filed jointly by the national bar association, Colegio Nacional de Abogados, and the civil society group, Alianza Ciudadana Pro Justicia, against Moncada, a former CSJ president (2012-2013). This followed the publication of a report by local daily, La Prensa, on 29 September, which raised serious questions over Moncada’s rapid accumulation of personal wealth. In particular the report questioned how Moncada went from renting an apartment five years ago to acquiring two luxury flats, one of which he reportedly paid some US$400,000 in cash for.

Under mounting pressure to explain himself, both from President Varela as well as various civil society groups, Moncada said on 1 October that he had bought one of the apartments before assuming his ten-year post in January 2010 – an appointment that was itself controversial [RC-10-01] - but that the sale was only finalised two years later. He also said that he had borrowed US$700,000 – interest free – from a member of Martinelli's ‘inner circle’, the businessman Felipe ‘Pipo’ Virzi. But Moncada maintained that there was nothing odd about this loan, as Virzi had lent money to “many people”, as well as to local firms including Martinelli’s Super 99 supermarket chain and Varela’s liquor company, Varela Hermanos.

With the investigation expected to last two months, both Moncada - who is currently barred from leaving his residence or the country without a court order - and Martinelli are decrying the move as political persecution. On 18 October Martinelli took to his Twitter account to accuse Varela of being an “autocrat” and a “dictator”.

Another source of tension

Martinelli meanwhile has other bones to pick with the new PPA government. On 2 October he presented a complaint before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the Panamanian State and the country’s electoral court (TE) – with which Martinelly already clashed during his presidency (see sidebar).

Martinelli’s complaint came in response to the TE's decision to admit challenges to 14 of the legislative results from the May general elections, ten of which are against his (now opposition) Cambio Democrático (CD) party. The TE has so far voided two of the elections for two legislative seats won by CD – both over alleged corruption - and ordered fresh elections for both. The most high profile case was that of Carlos Afú, who ran for a district in the central Veraguas province and is being investigated for the alleged misuse of over US$4.2m of State funds in his campaign. This includes US$1.4m from the government fund, Programa de Ayuda Nacional (PAN), which is already being audited [RC-14-10], and US$2.7m in funds ear-marked for the Río de Jesús mayoralty in Veraguas. With the TE still in the process of resolving the appeals, the national assembly currently comprises just 60 deputies -12 from the PPA; 20 from the CD; 25 from the opposition centre-left Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD); one from the PPA’s ally, Partido Popular; an independent and one from the CD’s former ally, Molirena.

• Martinelli-TE tensions

The tensions between former president, Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), and the electoral court (TE) are nothing new and stem from the court’s politicisation. Of the three TE justices, who serve ten-year terms, one is appointed by the executive, one by the legislature and one by the supreme court (CSJ). Two of the three sitting justices, including the TE president Erasmo Pinilla, were aligned with the opposition Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD).