Ernesto Perez Balladares
Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla (Panama City, June 29, 1946) is a Panamanian politician. He was the 33rd. President of the Republic of Panama from the 1st. from September 1994 to August 31, 1999.
Biography
Pérez Balladares was born in Panama City, the son of Ernesto Pérez Balladares and María Enriqueta González Revilla Delgado.
He attended primary and secondary studies at the San Vicente de Paul school in the district of David in the province of Chiriquí. After completing his high school studies, in 1967 he obtained his bachelor's degree in business administration with a specialty in finance from the University of Notre Dame. In 1970, he earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.
From 1971-1975 he served as corporate credit manager at Citibank, N.A. for the regions of Panama and Central America.
Political career
In 1976, he was chosen by General Omar Torrijos to be Minister of Finance and Treasury. Then in March 1979, he was one of the founders of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), of which he was appointed in 1982 as general secretary.
At the beginning of 1991, he returned to the PRD after distancing himself from it due to pressure from General Noriega[citation required] and once again obtained the position of general secretary of the party to thus forming part of the National Executive Committee of the PRD.
Presidency (1994-1999)
On Sunday, May 8, 1994, representing the PRD, he won the elections with 33.3%, being in second place Mireya Moscoso of the Panameñista Party who obtained 29.4% of the votes, in third place was Rubén Blades of the Papa Egoró Party with 17.1%, followed by Rubén Darío Carles of the MOLIRENA Party with 16.1%, Eduardo Vallarino for the Christian Democratic Party with 2.4%, Samuel Lewis Galindo for the Solidarity Party with 1.7% and José Salvador Muñoz of the Doctrinaire Panameñista Party with 0.3%. He succeeded Guillermo Endara Galimany in office.
His government was characterized by free market policies that included the modernization of the country with the entry of Panama into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997. The development of the country's infrastructure under his mandate is important with the expansion of the Inter-American highway and the construction of modern corridors that border the Panamanian capital.
Since the beginning of his administration, Pérez Balladares proposed a government of "national consensus" and submitted for the consideration of the citizens his political reform plan called: Public Policies for Integral Development: Social Development with Economic Efficiency", based on a competitive and market economy, oriented outwards, to achieve a rational insertion within the world economy and in accordance with globalization.
He promoted important reforms which earned him the enmity of some sectors and the applause of others. Despite the fact that many consider him a person of strong character. He gave honor to the presidency and his government was characterized by having a defined north.
At the end of his administration, the North American Government prohibited him from entering the United States for alleged acts of corruption in human trafficking, despite Balladares' insistence, the United States never provided evidence to confirm this accusation.
Like his counterparts in Peru, Argentina, and Brazil, he tried by constitutional means to seek immediate re-election through a popular referendum in 1998 where the Panamanian people decided, as has been their tradition, to limit this possibility with two thirds of the votes against, without prejudice to the fact that while he was in power when the referendum was called, a third of the electorate favored his proposal.
Achievements of his government
President Ernesto Pérez Balladares was the main protagonist of modernizing the country. He actively promoted the acceleration of the economy and its growth.[citation needed] By corporatizing INTEL, he turned it into a mixed company with private capital, from government and employees when 49% of the assets were sold to Cable & Wireless of England for an amount of 652 million dollars. He modernized communications by bringing Cellular telephony, the Internet and maritime services to Panama that turned Panama into one of the most important multimodal centers in the Americas.[citation required]
The entry of new operators into the market was established to end the state monopoly in areas such as electricity and others, and the CLICAC was created today ACODECO (Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition Affairs)
He created the Development Trust Fund, where the funds obtained from the sale of 49% of state companies and the sale of land in the interoceanic region of the extinct Canal Zone would be deposited.
The Authority for Reverted Areas of the Interoceanic Region (ARI) was created to manage the funds generated by sales and tenders for land that were part of the Canal Zone, and also to raise funds in the Fund's accounts Development Trustee that has served subsequent governments as national savings for the development of their works.
In the social field, it created the FIS Social Investment Fund, later changed to FES. Over the years its name has evolved, and with it also the use of resources.
He had the vision of moving the Paitilla airport and taking it to the Albrook airport, modernizing and granting them the status of international airport.
By developing the highway network with the North and South Corridors, the expansion to four lanes of the Inter-American highway, the construction of the Panama Colón highway, the construction of access roads, the improvement of existing roads and putting into operation operating the railway generated an unprecedented bonanza in economic growth, managing to position the country's economy making it the strongest in the region.
It corporatized the IRHE, which has generated more income for the country than it did in the hands of previous governments in power (The practice of privatizing state companies was World Bank guidelines to be able to grant loans to growing countries and development and in Panama were initiated through a state commitment acquired by the government of Guillermo Endara (Ford Plan), with the sale of 100% of Cemento Bayano to Cemex, the privatization of Cítricos de Chiriquí, El Matadero de Azuero, El Oil Palm Project of Barú, The Hotel Washington de Colón and the Hotel Taboga.)
Present
Today, Ernesto Pérez Balladares is dedicated to attending to private commercial activities, but at the same time without having lost contact with matters related to the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).
From 2015 to date, he has been seen actively dabbling in political proselytism, directing his efforts towards winning the presidency of the republic for a second term. Indeed, his appearances are always followed by a plural number of supporters in all corners of the country.
As well as his effort towards the conquest of the presidency, Pérez Balladares aspires to occupy the position of Secretary General of the CEN of the PRD as an intermediate objective in order to strengthen the party and in the search for party unity.
It has also been seen during his time inside or outside the presidency and/or government, Pérez Balladares has kept his private office open for more than 20 years with the purpose of continuing to be linked to national issues. In fact, he has become a benchmark for consultations and decision-making.
The Public Prosecutor's Office investigated former President Pérez Balladares for his links with the company Shelf Holding Inc.. On December 23, three volumes with copies of documents from two banks on bank accounts that were under investigation of the companies Shelf Holding Inc, PTY Advertures and another called Mr. Bull. Finally, in April 2011, in a legal trial, Judge Diego Fernández definitively dismissed former President Ernesto Pérez Balladares along with the other 14 defendants in this process. The judge held that the Special Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime violated the Constitution of Panama, international agreements and laws related to the crime of money laundering, by taking an investigative statement from the 15 defendants based on an erroneous criterion of the crimes for which I was accusing them. The ruling also indicates that the Prosecutor's Office did not provide "any direct or indirect evidence" that would demonstrate that the defendants committed the crimes of money laundering or corruption of public servants. It is also dedicated to poaching for which it has received the rejection of the population.
| Predecessor: Guillermo Endara Galimany |  1 September 1994 - 31 August 1999 | Successor: Mireya Moscoso |