Forewarned

When the results of the 2004 elections were announced, I made up my mind not to write about the blunders the new government would commit. Enough people have sacrificed their lives for this struggle; Panama should have learned its lesson decades ago. “Let those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind,” I thought, “I have better things to do.” Although I have not changed my mind, I will break my silence this time, because what they intend to do on the Camino de Cruces is an immorality so blatant that it calls for the support even of those of us who have resigned ourselves to letting this people learn from its mistakes the hard way. Here is my opinion:

It is unjustifiable to build a luxury housing development on top of mature forest, and to throw a bridge over the historical heritage of the nation, with the sole aim of generating more wealth for the rich. That such an affront to nature and history is legal does not mean that it must go ahead at all costs: it means that the government must repeal the law that allowed it and demand the resignation of those who approved it. The arrogant presumption that man is the owner of Nature (an inheritance from Aristotle and Aquinas) will lead us—I have warned of this before—to our end as a species. No social benefit justifies this wrong: how many of the thousands of marginalized people who live below the level of extreme poverty will go to live in these houses?

Like the anti-God of a bizarre Genesis, Pasco assured La Prensa in an interview that if he wanted to he could leave that lot (today full of life and meaning) as flat as a table. Strutting about his ability to turn paradise into desolation will not win sympathy for his project. Even though the forest on that lot is not primary, it is a sanctuary for many animal and plant species, and it contributes to the purification of the air, the rainfall regime, and the appeal to tourists of the city and the Canal. The ARI should never have put that lot up for bidding, and ANAM should never have approved a housing development in that area, regardless of who the promoter of the current project may be. The rubbery backbone of both institutions shows that they have failed in their mission to protect the property and the environment of the Panamanian people.

The government of Martín Torrijos still has the chance to earn some respect among decent people by opposing this outrage. But it does not want to. Those caught by surprise in this Kafkaesque nightmare, their chests full of indignation, cannot find words to describe what is happening. But its key is there, explicit for a long time now, and it is clear to all of us who have kept our eyes open and our brains working, to those of us who predicted that voting for the corrupt and the inept would bring nothing but regret, and to those of us who greeted the last three presidents with gloomy forecasts that fell short. This is called “forewarned is forearmed,” and it is also called “you made your bed and now you lie in it.” You will go on dying by your own hand, Panama, until you wake up.