PANAMA

Unfortunately, press freedom and freedom of information in Panama continue to be severely restricted. Despite challenges that have been made to the regulations of the Law on Transparency and Freedom of Information, these regulations continue to be enforced in a manner inconsistent with the law, in what amounts to a peculiar irregularity of the legal system. Panama will soon hold general elections for the Legislative Assembly and for president and vice president. As a result, the candidates have been forced to comment on freedom of the press and freedom of information. Some of them have stated clearly that, if elected, they will take the necessary steps to repeal the regulations of the Law on Transparency. Others have gone so far as to extend this promise to all existing laws that could be considered restrictive on freedom of the press and freedom of speech, and there are even those who have questioned the criminalization of libel and slander. However, it is nothing new for candidates to make campaign promises regarding the laws on this matter. This has been the case prior to every election, but none of these promises have been kept. During each of the democratically elected administrations of the past 15 years, committees were formed to review existing laws and propose any changes deemed appropriate. These committees did their job and submitted their proposals, but for one reason or another, none were passed by the legislature. Basically, there was no political will to pass them. The regulatory body for public services recently initiated a campaign against several radio and television commentators requiring them to have newscasters’ licenses, or otherwise they will not be allowed to broadcast their opinion programs. As for the Attorney General’s Office and the current attorney general, their disagreements with the media are long-standing. Prosecutor José Antonio Sossa released a statement on the insults that he says have been inflicted on him by the Panamanian media, particularly by the newspaper La Prensa. The paper’s founder, Roberto Eisenmann, dismissed Sossa’s comments.