History of panama
The history of Panama ranges from the arrival of its first inhabitants to the present day. Its history is divided into four great periods: pre-Hispanic, viceroyalty, Colombian and republican. There are also sub-periods such as the Spanish conquest, the independence of Panama from the Spanish Empire, the separation of Panama from Colombia, the military dictatorship in Panama, and the return to Democracy.
Pre-Hispanic times
Before the arrival of the Iberians, the lands of Panama were inhabited by Chibchense peoples who spoke Chibcha languages of the isthmian group. These towns formed diverse groups so they did not constitute a unified political unit.
Following the Spanish chronicles of the XVI century, it has been possible to determine the extension of the towns that existed in Panama at the time of the conquest of America. In addition to the chronicles, Panamanian and international historiography has used language, goldsmithing and other cultural aspects, to establish the area of territorial influence of the different indigenous nations.
Oriental indigenous chiefdoms
Among the indigenous nations that inhabited the isthmus, the Cuevas stood out, whose territory included the southwest of Panama, both on its Caribbean and Pacific coasts, including the Darién. The Atrato River has been set as the eastern limit of the domains of said indigenous people, while, to the west, the territory would extend to Chame in the Pacific and Quebore (Indian River) in the Caribbean.
The most important Cuevas chiefdoms were those of Pocorosa, Comagre and Careta; whose territories occupied the current region of Guna Yala. On the Pacific coast, the chiefdom of Chochama stood out, occupying a good part of the Gulf of San Miguel, as well as the coast between Chimán and the Bay of Chame, the Las Perlas archipelago and the islands of Chepillo, Taboga, Taboguilla and Otoque..
However, in the eastern part of the isthmus there were peoples who did not speak Cueva. Among them, the Chuchures stand out, who, coming from Honduras, settled in Nombre de Dios. On the other hand, "those from Birú" were reported by Pascual de Andagoya and located by Romoli in the upper basin of the Tucutí River, and those from 'Quarequa' or 'Careca' who "had been conquering from behind the Darién".
Indigenous chiefdoms in the central region
In the central part of the isthmus lived a plural number of indigenous nations that did not share common language or phenotypic characteristics. The Spanish chronicles point out that these chiefdoms maintained constant warfare between them for territorial control.
Among the domains found by the Spanish during the conquest, in territories of the current province of Coclé, mention is made of Periquete, Totonaga, Taracuru, Penonomé. However, it has been established that the Acherse cacique who commanded all those territories resided in Natá.
In the geographical area of the current Azuero peninsula, the chiefdoms of Escoria, Usagaña, Quema, Guararé, Pocrí and París have been documented. However, it is known that the chief Cutatara of Paris had dominated the rest of the neighboring chiefdoms through war.
In the central part of the current province of Veraguas the cacicazgo of Tabraba was established; towards the north was the cacicazgo of Urracá that was in the area of the current Santa Fe; With the advance of colonization, this territory hosted an important indigenous resistance.
Indigenous chiefdoms in the western region
In the current provinces of Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí, a plural number of indigenous tribes developed, among which the Guaymíes, Dorasques and Dolegas stand out. These tribes were scattered both on the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; as in the Central Cordillera.
Spanish conquest
Christopher Columbus was the first Spanish explorer to reach the American mainland, on his third voyage, but the first to reach Panamanian territory was Rodrigo Galván de Bastidas, a native of the city of Seville.
Since Columbus had been captured on his third voyage, the Catholic Monarchs eliminated the exclusivity of the company for him (the Capitulations of Santa Fe). For this reason, Bastidas requested a license to explore. In 1501, the Sevillian traveled the coasts of Venezuela and northern Colombia, to the Gulf of Urabá. Later he skirted the coast of the Panamanian isthmus, and came almost to the current location of the Panama Canal.
On this journey, the explorers did not found any towns or venture into the territory. Through barter with indigenous peoples, Bastidas amassed gold and brazilwood (prized for its wood and as a source of a dye). Unlike other conquerors, Bastidas dedicated himself to trade rather than looting wealth or enslaving the indigenous people.
Bastidas' boats were attacked by the mollusk called broma. This is a mollusk about 20 cm in length, which digs galleries in wood submerged in seawater, such as the hulls of ships and docks. For the above reason, several of Bastidas' ships were shipwrecked on the way to the island of Hispaniola, and he lost a large part of his wealth.
Upon arriving in said territory, Governor Francisco de Bobadilla prosecuted Bastidas for having violated the prohibition against arriving on the island. In his contract with the Spanish Crown, Bastidas had promised to do the above and not to negotiate with the indigenous people. Both things were unfulfilled. Bobadilla sent Bastidas to Spain, where he was tried, but he was acquitted. Subsequently, he was even granted a life pension on the wealth extracted from Urabá.
Bastidas made other exploration trips. In 1525, he founded Santa Marta, in the territory of present-day Colombia, the first lasting town in the region.
As governor of that city, he faced an uprising, due in part to his attitude of trading with the indigenous peoples, rather than plundering their wealth. He was wounded, and went to Hispaniola to recuperate, but the winds carried him to Cuba, where he finally died in 1527.
On October 10, 1502, on his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus reached the Atlantic coast of the isthmus, in the present-day provinces of Bocas Del Toro and Veraguas. On November 2, he arrived at a bay in the present-day province of Colón, which he named Portobelo or Puerto Bello.
Foundation of the first Spanish cities
Santa María la Antigua Foundation
Santa María la Antigua del Darién was the first city founded by the Spanish on the mainland of the American continent, located in the Province of Darién, in the region of the current border between Panama and Colombia, in Colombian territory.
It was founded by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1510, in the territories of Cacique Cémaco. Upon encountering strong resistance from the indigenous people of the area, the Spanish offered to the Virgen de la Antigua venerated in Seville who, if they emerged victorious in battle, would give her name to the population. Cémaco was defeated and in September 1510, fulfilling the promise made, the city was baptized with the name of Santa María de la Antigua del Darién.
A municipal government was constituted, and the first open town hall meeting in the American continent was held there, appointing Vasco Núñez de Balboa as mayor. In this city, the first church of Tierra Firme was also built, on the site of Cémaco's home, and it was the first episcopal seat of the continent. The councils were democratic institutions, pioneers throughout the world in this practice.
Santa María la Antigua del Darién was the capital of the territory of Castilla de Oro until the founding of Panama City by Pedrarias Dávila in 1519. Pedrarias ordered the transfer of the capital of Castilla del Oro, people, cattle and ammunition to the new Panama on the shores of the South Sea or Pacific Ocean. A few years later Santa María La Antigua del Darién was abandoned and in 1524 the city was assaulted and burned by the indigenous people.
Sighting of the South Sea
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In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa undertook the conquest of the territories of the chiefs Careta, Ponca and Comagre, where he heard for the first time of the existence of another sea by Panquiaco, Comagre's eldest son, where it was reported of a kingdom to the south with a population so rich that they used gold tableware and utensils to eat and drink.
The unexpected news of a new sea full of riches was taken into account by Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who organized an expedition that departed from Santa María La Antigua on September 1, 1513. On September 25, Núñez de Balboa goes ahead of the rest of the expedition and enters the Chucunaque River mountain range, and before noon manages to reach the top of the mountain range from where he can see the waters of the new sea on the horizon.
When the expedition reached the beaches, Núñez de Balboa raised his hands, in one was his sword and in the other a banner of the Virgin Mary, he entered the waters up to the knees and took possession of the Sea of the South in the name of the sovereigns of Castile.
Núñez de Balboa baptized the gulf where the expedition arrived as San Miguel, because it was discovered on September 29, the day of Saint Michael the Archangel, and the new sea as the South Sea due to the route taken by the exploration of the isthmus towards to the south. This fact is considered by the history of Panama as the most important chapter of the conquest after the discovery of America.
In Panama, parks and avenues have been named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa. In Panama City, off the coast stands an impressive monument dedicated to his memory and the feat of discovering the South Sea. In his honor the official currency of the country has been baptized with the denomination of balboa, his face appearing on the obverse of some coins. Likewise, the main port in the Pacific of the Panama Canal and the district that includes the Las Perlas archipelago, also bear his name. The highest decoration awarded by the Panamanian State to prominent and outstanding people is the Vasco Núñez de Balboa Order in its different degrees.
Panama City Foundation
Panama City was founded on August 15, 1519 by Pedro Arias Dávila, being the first Spanish city on the coasts of the South Sea or Pacific Ocean and the oldest on the mainland that exists to this day as a city. Its foundation replaced the previous cities of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla, becoming the capital of Castilla del Oro. On September 15, 1521, it received, by royal decree, the title of city and a coat of arms conferred by Carlos V of Spain.
Panama City became the starting point for the exploration and conquest of Peru and a transit route for shipments of gold and wealth from the entire Pacific coast of the American continent that were sent to Spain. In 1671 the city is attacked by the forces of the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan with the intention of looting it. Due to security measures, regarding the population and property, the Captain General of Tierra Firme, Juan Pérez de Guzmán, ordered the evacuation of the city and blow up the gunpowder stores, causing a gigantic fire that totally destroyed it. The ruins of the old city are still maintained, including the tower of its cathedral and are a tourist attraction known as the Historic Monuments of Old Panama, recognized as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Panama City was rebuilt in 1673 in a new location 2 km west-southwest of the original city at the foot of Mount Ancón, currently known as the Casco Viejo of the city.
In 1821, after Panama's independence from Spain and its voluntary union with Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia, Panama City passed from the capital of Castilla del Oro and the duchy of Veraguas, to being the capital of the department of Isthmus. The union with Colombia was carried out with autonomous intentions that Colombia never accepted. In 1830, 1831 and 1832, Panama tried to separate from Colombia, but Bolívar's insistence first, and the reason for arms later, reunified the territories. Among the 6 civil wars that took place in Colombia during the XIX century, the one that occurred in the middle of the century caused the separation of Panama in 1840, adopting the name of State of the Isthmus, for one year.
The gold rush in California, in 1848, again made the isthmus the route of travelers who crossed the west coast of North America, restoring the commercial boom to the city. In 1855 the Panama railroad began operations, the first transoceanic railroad from Panama City on the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of the isthmus.
In 1868 another popular revolt occurred; and finally, on August 12, 1903, the Colombian Senate, meeting in Congress, rejected the Herrán-Hay Treaty to build a canal through the United States, considering that it undermined its sovereignty. The real reason for the rejection was to drop the concession made to the French Canal Company, which expired in February 1904, and thus assume ownership of its assets, and to renegotiate the treaty stipulating that the $40 million that would go to the company they would go to the Colombian Treasury. Panamanians organize and declare separation on November 3, 1903. The United States recognizes the new state three days later, and with its navy prevents Colombia's action to restore central authority.
The Republic of Panama declares its separation from Colombia and Panama City becomes the capital of the new nation. With the construction works of the Panama Canal, the infrastructure of the city was improved in aspects such as sanitation, the eradication of yellow fever and malaria, the reconstruction of streets and sewers, as well as the introduction of the first drinking water system.
During World War II, the construction of military bases and the presence of large numbers of US military and civilian personnel brought new levels of prosperity and commerce to the city. Also the Germans (Nazis) had as a special point to attack the Panama Canal. Nazi air bases have even been found that had the Panama Canal as their address, submarines sunk in the canal by American battleships were also found.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Panama City became one of the strongest banking centers in the world on a par with New York, and the most powerful financial and insurance center in all of Latin America. On December 20, 1989, the US Army invaded Panama City with the purpose of capturing General Manuel Antonio Noriega, Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces and last military dictator of the Republic of Panama, who was accused of drug trafficking in US courts. As a result of this military action, the Chorrillo neighborhood, where the headquarters of the Panama Defense Forces was located, was largely destroyed.
Currently, the city of Panama, which mainly includes the districts of Panama and San Miguelito, as well as other nearby districts and corregimientos, exceeds 1.2 million inhabitants, in one of the most advanced and cosmopolitan cities in the American continent, with numerous tourist and vacation attractions, world-class hotels and restaurants, casinos and international shopping centers, nightlife and recreational centers, the international banking center, the insurance and reinsurance center, and its imposing buildings and skyscrapers, some of them among the highest in Latin America and the world. Megaport development, the stock market, diamonds and real estate transactions are the keynote of the beginning of the XXI century, being considered the country and its capital as one of the best countries to live.
Viceregal period
On August 15, 1519, Pedro Arias Dávila founded Our Lady of the Assumption of Panama on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Apart from responding to the instructions given by King Fernando to erect towns, it became the center of activity for the discovery and obtaining of wealth, with the departure of expeditions to the isthmus of Central America and Peru.
Simultaneously with the founding of Panama, Pedrarias sent his lieutenant Diego de Albítez to repopulate Nombre de Dios in the Atlantic Ocean, a site that had been discovered by Christopher Columbus and occupied with some straw huts by Nicuesa in 1510. Between the two of them ports, the Camino Real was established, a mainland route that crossed the Isthmus of Panama for the transport of merchandise and precious metals between both oceans.
Gaspar de Espinosa in the company of the pilot Juan de Castañeda departed in July 1519 with an expedition that would visit the lands of the chiefs Paris, Escoria and Chagres, reconnaissing the northern coast of the South Sea, aboard the Balboa's ships, the San Cristóbal and the Santa María de Buena Esperanza. At Punta Burica he disembarked ready to start his journey back to Panama by land, while Juan de Castañeda continued sailing north until he reached the Gulf of Nicoya in Costa Rica. On his way back, Espinosa was arresting indigenous people in order to take them to Panama to be distributed in parcels. In 1520, Gaspar de Espinosa established the seat of Natá, in fertile territories quickly becoming an agricultural center and bordering with Veragua. Pedrarias declares the foundation of Natá on May 20, 1522, which was attacked by the indigenous people led by the powerful cacique Urracá, who grouped around him the peoples of the Chiriquí and Veraguas regions, creating opposition to the Spanish advance in the area for nearly a decade. In 1531 the great Indian chief Urracá died.
Pedrarias, interested in finding a sea strait that communicated both seas, dedicated himself to organizing a series of expeditions like the one led by Gil González Dávila and Andrés Niño who sailed and landed in present-day Costa Rica and later in Nicaragua. Thanks to the indigenous people, González Dávila learned of the existence of two large lakes, Nicaragua and Managua, mistakenly thinking that it was a strait between the seas.
Another expedition organized by Pedrarias was that of Captain Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, accompanied by Gabriel de Rojas, Francisco Campañón and Hernando de Soto, who left at the end of 1523, with the mission of founding towns all over the land visited by Gil González and Andrés Niño. Hernández de Córdoba visited part of Costa Rica and in 1524 founded the seat of Brussels near present-day Puntarenas. On the shores of Lake Cocibolca he founded the city of Granada and to the north of Lake Managua he erected the seat of León.
In 1523, Hernán Cortés had concluded the conquest of the Aztec Empire and with the purpose of finding a passage or strait between the two seas, he sent Pedro de Alvarado to what is now Guatemala and Cristóbal de Olid to what is now Honduras, creating a situation of quarrels with Pedrarias.
By 1526, both the explorations sent by Pedrarias from present-day Panama, and those of Cortés from present-day Mexico, had shown that the long-awaited strait did not exist in Central America. By then, six years had already passed since Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Patagonian Strait on the southern tip of the continent on November 28, 1520, which today bears his name.
On May 20, 1524, Pedrarias authorized the expedition of Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro and the priest Hernando de Luque, which departed on November 14 from Panama to the conquest of Peru.
As a result of the explorations in Central America and Peru, there is a depopulation of the main settlements on the isthmus. This situation is mentioned by Pedro Cieza de León in 1535, in a description of the city of Panama where he indicates that the old conquerors having died, the new settlers did not think of inhabiting Panama longer than necessary to become rich, with no intention of colonizing and settle on the isthmus. Panama ceased to be the usual center of exploration, discovery and conquest to become the transit point for precious metals and American products bound for Europe, and at the same time a center of trade for European manufactures with which the Spanish Empire supplied the West Indian markets. The transit route function was the role assumed by the Panamanian territory for little more than two centuries in the Spanish colonial era.
The fairs held on the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus of Panama, first in Nombre de Dios in 1544 and from 1597 in Portobelo, had the primary objective of supplying Iberian articles to the American markets and sending precious metals from From Peru. The importance of this commercial exchange event is revealed in the data provided indicating that between 1531 and 1660, of all the gold that entered Spain from the New World, 60% crossed the Isthmus of Panama. The last fair was held in Portobelo in 1737. Panama also served as a transshipment for those coming and going from Asia, in which case Panama was a support node on the Transpacific Manila Galleons connecting Southeast Asia and Latin America via of the Spanish Philippines. However, in 1579, the role of Panama was expanded as the royal monopoly that Acapulco-Mexico had with trade with Manila-Philippines was eliminated, and thus Panama, by decree, became another port that could trade directly with Asia and the Philippines.
The royal road was almost impassable during the rainy season, so a new route was considered. In 1536 the Municipality of Panama was authorized to build a warehouse at Venta Cruz or Cruces on the banks of the Chagres River, seven miles from Panama City. Given the deplorable conditions of the royal road, in 1569 the Viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo, ordered the construction of another road that passed through Cruces, which was called the road of crosses. The site of the old town of Cruces lies under the waters of Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal.
The Chagres river represented for the Spanish authorities a possibility of serving as part of a navigable trans-isthmian route. With this purpose, in 1527 Governor Pedro de los Ríos instructed Hernando de la Serna, Miguel de la Cuesta and Pedro Corso to explore the Chagres River, which they determined was favorable for use as a road to communicate both seas.
In 1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón was the first to propose the construction of an interoceanic canal through the Isthmus of Panama, but in 1533 Gaspar de Espinosa wrote to King Carlos I of Spain stating that the Chagres River could be made navigable at a very low cost, being the most useful route in the world, affirming that a channel for navigation can be dug. By orders of the Spanish Crown, other explorations were made in the Chagres River during the Governorships of Antonio de la Gama and Francisco de Barrionuevo without encouraging results.
The Royal Court of Panama
It was created by Royal Decree of February 26, 1538 by Carlos I and was the third Hearing of the continent. It included the provinces of Tierra Firme (Castilla de Oro and Veragua), all the territories that comprise from the Strait of Magellan to the Gulf of Fonseca (the provinces of Río de la Plata, Chile, Peru, the governorate of Cartagena and Nicaragua).
| Capital | Year |
|---|---|
| Santo Domingo | 1513 |
| Mexico (New Spain) | 1527 |
| Panama (Firm Land) | 1535 |
| Lima (The Kings) | 1542 |
| Guatemala (Los Confines) | 1543 |
| Guadalajara (New Galicia) | 1548 |
| Santafé de Bogotá (New Granada) | 1549 |
| Charcas (Rio de la Plata) | [1551[chuckles]required]]] |
| San Francisco de Quito | 1563 |
| Concepción (Chile) | 1565 |
| Cuzco | 1573 |
| Santiago de Chile | 1607 |
| Buenos Aires | 1661 |
| Caracas | 1777 |
The introduction of blacks as slaves from Senegal and the former kingdom of Congo, offered resistance as before the Indian did, with uprisings and attacks on the Camino de Cruces, by runaway blacks like Felipillo and Bayano. The coexistence between creole whites, Indians and blacks brought a mixture of races to the isthmus.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Panama was the target of constant attacks by England through pirates, corsairs, filibusters and buccaneers, racist murderers who massacred populations and made slaves, such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan, as well as some Scottish attempts to colonize the Darién, in territories named by them as New Caledonia.
By 1746, the South Sea fleets used the Cape Horn route, which, although it was longer in distance, turned out to be safer. In 1753, registered ships were allowed to use the port of Buenos Aires and with the reforms of Carlos III in 1764, the ports of Spain and the Indies began to be opened to trade, which meant economic prostration for the Isthmus. The fields acquire economic importance weakening urban life.
The separatist movements born in the shadow of England and France, transformed the isthmus into an exporter of royalist armies, since the situation of Spain and its colonies had worsened and the movements led to separatist wars.
The independence of the 13 Colonies from England in 1776 to become the USA. USA, increase the issue of the independence movements from Spain by several Panamanians, who advocated for a regime of commercial and civil liberties, against the worn-out monarchical regime. In 1812 the Viceroyalty of the Isthmus of Panama was established, as a response to smuggling and reestablishing trade through the isthmus.
The Napoleonic invasion of Spain and the victories of Simón Bolívar in Boyacá weakened the power of the Spanish crown in America, impoverishing trade on the isthmus. In 1815, Simón Bolívar in his prophetic letter from Jamaica speaks of the association of the states from the Isthmus of Panama to Guatemala in a single nation, which is viewed with admiration by the Creoles (Spanish or their descendants) in whose hands they held all the economic power.
Colombian stage
The Panamanian movement for independence from the Spanish Crown began on November 10, 1821 with the events of the First Cry for Independence in Villa de Los Santos by Rufina Alfaro, which had the support of other cities such as Natá, Penonome, Ocu and Parita.
The royalist army in Panama City was commanded by General José de Fábrega, a Creole native of Panama, which was taken advantage of by the Istmeños, obtaining the complicity of General Fábrega, the patriotic societies and the clergy, who contributed financially to movement. On November 28, the City Council convened an Open Cabildo and in a solemn act, in the presence of the military, civil and ecclesiastical authorities, the ties that tied the Isthmus of Panama with Spain were declared broken. Among the illustrious persons were José Higinio Durán y Martell, Bishop of Panama, Carlos de Icaza Arosemena, Mariano Arosemena, Juan de Herrera, Narciso de Urriola, José de Alba, Gregorio Gómez, Manuel María Ayala, Antonio Planas, Juan Pío Victorias, Antonio Bermejo, Gaspar Arosemena and Casimiro del Bal.
On November 30, 1821, the war frigates Prueba y Venganza arrived in the Bay of Panama accompanied to look for the rest of the Spanish troops. The Spanish captains José de Villegas and Joaquín de Soroa sign a peace treaty with Colonel José de Fábrega on January 4, 1822, between the Spanish monarchy and the patriots where they agree to non-aggression to the territories of the isthmus and the withdrawal of the troops and all the ships of the Spanish Crown of the new isthmus nation.
The lack of budget, the little military weapons that were available and the insecurity of being reconquered by Spain, endangered continuing with the independence adventure of the isthmus, for which reason they proposed the union with some of the new American nations, including the neighbors of the Central American union and the nation of Peru that had been the main trading partner of the isthmus in colonial times.
However, Panamanian patriots, admiring the leadership and vision of Simón Bolívar, make the decision to voluntarily join the Republic of Colombia or Gran Colombia.
Union with Colombia
Around 1810, the territories corresponding to the Royal Audience of Panama were made up of Castilla del Oro and the Duchy of Veragua (of the Columbus family). By declaring its voluntary union to Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia (Cundinamarca, Venezuela and Quito), it was divided into two provinces: Panama (which included Panama City, Darién, the coasts of the Gulf of Urabá in the Caribbean and Chocó) and that of Veraguas (which extended from the central territories of the Isthmus, the city of Natá de los Caballeros, part of present-day Costa Rica as Burica in the Pacific, the coast of the Gulf of Mosquitos to the border of present-day Nicaragua and the various islands in the Caribbean, such as the archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia (off the coast of Nicaragua).This situation was not welcomed by the inhabitants of the isthmus, generating in the future situations of estrangement with the Colombian government. and separatist movements.
The Amphictyonic Congress of June 1826, under the ideal of Simón Bolívar, brought together in Panama City representatives of the new countries of the American continent such as Central America, Greater Colombia, Mexico and Peru, as a confederation in defense of the continent against possible actions of the League of the Holy Alliance made up of the European powers and their claims to lost territories in America.
In 1830 the First Separation of Panama from Colombia took place. Gran Colombia was going through a political chaos because Venezuela and Ecuador made the decision to separate from the confederation, Sucre had been assassinated and Bolívar resigned from the government. General José Domingo Espinar, Military Commander of the Isthmus, declared the separation of Panama on September 26, 1830, as he did not agree with the instability of the government of Joaquín Mosquera, Bolívar's successor.
Espinar offered Bolívar the government of the Isthmus, so that he would fight for the adhesion of the other countries of the confederation, however Bolívar was ill and declined the offer, asking Espinar to reintegrate the Isthmus back into the Greater Colombia. Panama was reintegrated into the confederation on December 11, 1830, hinting at the possibility of an independent nation from Gran Colombia.
General Fábrega did not support Espinar's decision to reinstate the isthmus and marched towards Veraguas, leaving Colonel Juan Eligio Alzuru in charge of military control of Panama City. Espinar's enemies convince Alzuru to imprison him and send him into exile. With the idea of proclaiming himself a dictator, Alzuru seeks support from the Panamanian people and their nationalist sense, resulting in the Second Separation of Panama from Colombia on July 9, 1831. Alzuru became a dictator and lost the support of the Panamanian population.. The arrival at the isthmus of Colonel Tomás Herrera, in cooperation with Fábrega and other illustrious Panamanians, Alzuru is captured and shot. Months later, the nation of the isthmus reunited with Colombia, with the disappointment of being united with a country in decline, with the extinction of Gran Colombia, since Venezuela and Ecuador were independent countries, and the lack of Simón's leadership. Bolívar, letting Panamanians see that being part of the Republic of New Granada was unnecessary, thus creating societies and parties with separatist ideals in Panama.
State of the Isthmus (1840 - 1841)
The Granada war of 1839 under the command of General José María Obando launched the region into an armed conflict, which the inhabitants of the isthmus felt alien to and preferred to avoid. Giving up entering the war, a popular meeting was created in Panama City on November 18, 1840, to declare the separation of Panama from Colombia for the third time, under the name of the State of the Isthmus. Headed by Colonel Tomás Herrera, the first Panamanian constitution is drafted, the nation's economy and political institutions are organized. Costa Rica and the US recognized the new country. After months of negotiations, the government of Bogotá manages to convince Colonel Herrera to reintegrate the isthmus under the agreement not to punish the secessionists of the isthmus. Ignoring the agreement, once the isthmus was reinstated, Colonel Herrera was banished and removed from the military ranks.
When the Isthmus of Panama was reintegrated into New Granada in 1841, the New Granada authorities glimpsed that England intended to take possession of some Panamanian region through which the two coasts could be linked by some means of communication, cutting off New Granada territory. Proofs of this appreciation were the English enclaves in Central America (Belize and the Miskito coast); then he sought the protection of the United States to safeguard New Granada's sovereignty in Panama, offering him, in exchange, important privileges in that part of the isthmus. With this purpose, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Granada, Manuel María Mallarino, and the American business manager Benjamin Bidlack signed, on December 12, 1846, the Mallarino-Bidlack Treaty, where the United States guaranteed the sovereignty of New Granada in Panama, and New Granada grants the US the privilege of using the isthmus for the construction of communication routes between the two coasts. Likewise, the United States undertakes to guarantee the neutrality of the isthmus and free transit between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, resulting in the entry of the US army into Panamanian territory and opening the door to US intervention in Panama. One of the consequences of this treaty is the discouragement of Panamanians in the desire to separate from New Granada, during the second half of the XIX century , seeing US troops stationed in their territory willing to "guarantee order".
In 1850, General José Domingo Espinar and Dr. E. A. Teller editor of the newspaper "Panamá Echo", carry out a revolution at dawn on September 29, which ends with the Fourth Separation of Panama from Colombia. José de Obaldía, governor of the Isthmus, did not agree with this separation since he saw the isthmus not yet ready to take control of its destiny, convincing them to give up and reintegrate the isthmus again.
Sovereign State of Panama (1855 - 1886)
The gold rush in California produced the migration of travelers from all over the world through various routes, turning Panama into the shortest and most feasible route between the east and west of the American continent, resuming the idea of construction communication routes such as canals and railways for the passage of goods and passengers. The rights for the construction and administration of the work by the United States in Panamanian territory were negotiated by the government of Bogotá through the Paredes-Stephens Agreement. On January 28, 1855, the Panama Railroad was inaugurated by the president of New Granada, the Panamanian José de Obaldía. One of the most important engineering works of that time, which crossed the isthmus, and made Panama City the first great metropolis that Colombia had. Under the leadership of William J. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens and James L. Baldwin, the construction of the railway is completed, demonstrating great courage and resistance to intense work and fight against diseases.
On February 27, 1855, Justo Arosemena, a statesman elected representative of the isthmus before the Gran Andean Congress, managed to have the creation of the Federal State of Panama incorporated into the constitution, by means of a Legislative Act. (Being the first federal state of Colombia before the Confederation of Granada and the United States of Colombia). On April 15, 1856, a series of violent events occurred between Panamanians and Americans known as "the incident of the watermelon slice" #3. 4;. American Jack Olivier decides to buy Panamanian José Manuel Luna a slice of watermelon, which he ate and for which he refused to pay a real or 5 cents. This sparked an argument that ended when Olivier pulls out a gun and shoots, then escaping from the scene. This provoked a fight between Panamanians and the Americans, which ended up setting fire to the railway facilities, causing the American soldiers to repress the Panamanian population, with a balance of 16 American deaths and 2 Panamanian deaths. The US government accused the New Granada police of siding with Panamanians and allowing them to raid and loot US property, indicating their inability to maintain order and provide adequate protection for US transit through Panama.
On September 19 of that year, the US army disembarked a military detachment to protect the railway station and restore order in Panama City. This occupation is considered the first case of armed intervention in Panama by the US government, with the aim of guaranteeing neutrality and free transit through the isthmus. On September 10, 1857, the Granada government accepted its guilt and signed the Herrán-Cass Treaty, paying compensation of US$ 412,394 (US dollars in gold), for the damages caused by the Panamanians.
On July 5, 1874, the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique was founded by Count De Lesseps, with the purpose of building a level canal through Panama. The French began the work in January 1881, but the great expenses and the little existing control, added to the ignorance of the way of transmission of diseases in the region such as yellow fever and malaria became the main obstacle for the construction of the channel. Among the highly skilled workers who came to the isthmus for the construction of the canal by France was the French engineer Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a graduate of the École Polytechnique and the École de Ponts et Chaussées, who at the age of 27 is Appointed Acting Head of the Canal Company.
The Compagnie Universelle du Canal de Panamá was intervened and liquidated on September 15, 1889. As probable causes to explain the failure, poor administration, corruption, high mortality from tropical diseases and the Non-acceptance by the Count of Lesseps of not changing the level canal project for one of locks, as an alternative and engineering recommendation to be able to conclude the work. In desperate efforts to save the company's money, Bunau-Varilla is authorized to sell assets and rights in the isthmus to the United States. The French adventure on the isthmus lasted ten years at an approximate cost of 1.4 billion francs and a loss of human life close to 20,000 dead.
Between 1899 and 1902, the Thousand Days War broke out between liberals and conservatives, turning the isthmus into a bloody battlefield where a large part of the Panamanian youth died, as reflected in the battles of the Calidonia bridge in July 1900 and Aguadulce in February 1901. On November 22, 1902, conservatives and liberals signed the pact called the Peace of Wisconsin on the American warship "Wisconsin", where the conflict was terminated. In November 1902, Victoriano Lorenzo was captured, arguing that he did not share the peace agreement and that he would take up arms again. The Colombian government, fearful that the Panamanian guerrilla would be released, decides to sentence him to death, presenting him as a common criminal. On May 15, 1903, the liberal leader was executed in Panama City. His body was never delivered to his family and friends.
In January 1903, the Herrán-Hay Treaty was signed between the United States and Colombia to complete the construction of the canal through Panamanian territory, which was later not ratified by the Colombian Senate on August 12, arguing that the clause that granted US sovereignty over the canal and a strip on either side, was unacceptable.
Separation from Colombia
Although it is true that the independence of Panama from Spain was a movement alien to the revolution led by Bolívar, the voluntary union of the Nation of the Isthmus with Colombia, in search of a better future under the leadership of Simón Bolívar, was a decision made by the istmeños in 1821, which was marked by the adverse situations experienced in the different Colombian republics such as social confrontations, foolish political decisions and a bad economic situation that did not present a way out of the impoverishment to which the nation of the isthmus.
After 17 separation attempts and 4 declared separations with a subsequent reinstatement of the union with Colombia, the failure of the canal construction by the French, the Thousand Days War waged in Panamanian territory, the firing squad of the Liberal leader Victoriano Lorenzo, the Colombian Senate's rejection of the Herrán-Hay treaty for the construction of the interoceanic canal by the United States serve as a trigger for a new separatist movement led by leaders such as José Agustín Arango, Manuel Amador Guerrero, Carlos Constantino Arosemena, General Nicanor A. De Obarrio, Ricardo Arias, Federico Boyd, Tomás Arias and Manuel Espinosa Batista.
José Agustín Arango, a prominent citizen and politician from the Isthmus, secretly worked to prepare the separatist movement and formed a clandestine revolutionary junta aimed at separating the isthmus from Colombian sovereignty, and thus being able to negotiate directly with the United States for the construction of the interoceanic canal through Panama, since the United States was exploring the possibility of building a highway between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. For his part, Manuel Amador Guerrero secretly traveled to the United States in search of support for the plan. Likewise, the movement obtained the support of important liberal leaders in Panama and the support of the military commander Esteban Huertas, agreeing to the implementation of the separatist plan for an undefined day in November 1903.
Insistent rumors about a movement in Panama City made Colombia mobilize the Tiller Battalion from Barranquilla, with instructions to replace Governor José Domingo de Obaldía and General Esteban Huertas, who no longer enjoyed the confidence of the government from Bogota.
On the morning of November 3, 1903, the Shooters Battalion landed in Colón, commanded by Generals Juan B. Tovar and Ramón G. Amaya. The armed contingent should have been transported to Panama City, but they were informed of setbacks by the authorities of the Panama Railroad, who acted in complicity with the separatist movement. However, the generals and high officials agreed to transport themselves to Panama City without their troops.
Once they arrived in Panama City, Tovar, Amaya and their officers were arrested on the orders of General Esteban Huertas, who commanded the select Colombia Battalion, whose leadership they intended to replace.
The decision of General Huertas to support the separatist movement and arrest the Colombian generals depended on the support provided by General Domingo Díaz who together with the people of the suburb of Santa Ana took up arms, forming an army of more than a thousand Panamanians Ready to defend the homeland. The naval fleet anchored in the Bay of Panama surrendered without resistance.
In the City of Colón, the troops of the Shooters Battalion remained under the command of Colonel Eliseo Torres, who were subdued by the separatist forces and forced to sail from the Isthmus towards Colombia.
All of Panama City was in shock and shouts of celebration and celebration of the nascent Republic of Panama were heard in all the neighborhoods. On the afternoon of November 3, 1903, the Municipal Council of Panama City, chaired by Demetrio H. Brid, met under the will of the people to be free and to establish their own, independent, and sovereign government, without the subordination of Colombia, under the name of the Republic of Panama, a decision that immediately found support in the rest of the country.
On November 4, the Municipal Council of Panama establishes a Provisional Government Board made up of José Agustín Arango, Federico Boyd and Tomás Arias, which held office until February 1904 when the National Constituent Convention designated Manuel Amador Guerrero as first Constitutional President of the Republic of Panama.
There were several attempts by the Colombian government to reverse the separation of the isthmus, from high-level meetings between representatives of Bogotá and Panama, political offers such as the approval of the canal treaty that had been rejected, and the transfer of the capital from Colombia to Panama City, as well as a failed military invasion attempt through the jungles of the Darien and even the invocation of the Mallarino-Bidlack treaty that required the United States to militarily subdue the Panamanian people in order to reestablish Colombian sovereignty over the Isthmus nation. However, the decision for the Panamanians had already been made and the Republic of Panama was quickly recognized by the Latin American nations, the United States and the European powers.
On March 30, 1922, the United States Congress ratified the Thompson-Urrutia treaty, which granted Colombia an indemnity of 25 million dollars, with the purpose of "eliminating all disagreements produced by the events political events that occurred in Panama in 1903", in addition to granting Colombia the right to free transit through the Canal for warships and troops. As a result of said treaty, the exchange of ambassadors takes place, Nicolás Victoria Jaén for Panama and Guillermo Valencia for Colombia, which marks the beginning of diplomatic relations and the recognition of both countries.
Republican era
Once the Separation of Panama from Colombia was declared, the new government through its ambassador plenipotentiary Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, achieved the signing of a treaty for the construction of an interoceanic canal through the isthmus with the government of the United States Joined. The Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty allowed the construction of the road that had been left unfinished by the French group of Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Colombian government. The construction of the canal was completed in 1914 using advanced technology for the time such as electric motors with reduction systems to move the lock gates, railway track systems to mobilize the tons of excavated material and the construction of Gatun Lake, the lake largest artificial in the world up to that time. Some public health aspects were relevant since they were considered one of the obstacles that led to the failure of the French company. The sanitation and fumigation of the areas, as well as the reconstruction of the aqueducts and sewers of the cities of Panama and Colon were decisive.
The canal treaties granted the administration of a 10-mile-wide strip of land along the interoceanic highway to the United States government, which, even when Panama's sovereignty was recognized, generated situations of conflict between the two nations in subsequent decades.
First Republican Decade (1904 - 1912)
Manuel Amador Guerrero was the First President of Panama (1904 - 1908) for the Conservative Party, which dedicated itself to gradually rebuilding the Country of the Thousand Days' War and beginning to segment the Panamanian state, in November 1904 The United States demands the disintegration of the Panama Army because it could represent a threat to the Panama Canal Zone
During the first years of the Republican era, the US government paid a lot of attention to the events that took place in Panama, mainly they monitored the presidential elections so that the leaders were in favor of their interests.[citation required] In 1910, President José Domingo de Obaldía died in office due to cardiac arrest, being succeeded by the second Liberal appointee, Carlos Antonio Mendoza as provisional president, but was removed by the National Assembly for his ambitions to participate in the next elections of 1912, being replaced by Lawyer Pablo Arosemena where during his provisional period he was accused for rumors of nepotism and cheapening state money. In 1912 Obaldía participated in the elections of that same year for the Liberal Party against, also liberal, Doctor Belisario Porras Barahona, the latter winning the elections.
Presidency of Belisario Porras
During his presidential term, Porras brought advances in infrastructure, laws, communications, transportation, economics, among others, to the young country.[citation needed] The political controversies that arose from the interpretation of treaties, were considered a threat to Panamanian sovereignty and accentuated the differences between the authorities of the Isthmus and those of the Canal Zone. In 1914, President Belisario Porras raised for the first time the need for a new treaty on the Panama Canal.
During his tenure, the Liberal Party had clashes between factions within itself,[citation needed] specifically between the cheerleader faction and the chiarista faction that were vying for power each other. The 1916 elections were disputed by these factions, between Ramón Maximiliano Valdez in favor of the cheerleader faction and Rodolfo Chiari, for the chiarista. While this was happening, the Conservative Party was being relegated by the Liberal Party since most of its leaders were already very old or had already died, gradually falling into the background. Winning the elections Ramón Maximiliano Valdez, where despite the fact that most of his important projects were not heard, the Panamanian Red Cross was created in his government as well as the entry of Panama into the First World War supporting the side of the Entente, Valdez He would die in office in 1918, being replaced by Ciro Luis Urriola as provisional president, this causing an American intervention in the country by the National Assembly by indefinitely suspending the next elections, being replaced by Belisario Porras as interim president.
In 1920 Porras left the presidency to prepare for the 1920 elections, being replaced by Ernesto Lefevre, in the elections Porras faced Ciro Luis Urriola withdrew and did not appear in the elections seeing that almost all the votes and support he went to Porras, the latter winning, during this new government, Porras would repeat the same thing he did in his previous presidency, with new advances in the development of the country.
During his presidency the Coto War against Costa Rica occurred, managing to easily transport policemen and volunteers now turned into soldiers faster thanks to the Chiriquí railway that reached Coto, managing to defeat the Costa Ricans in El Coto and capturing the town, and 3 Costa Rican ships. At first with the intention of advancing towards the Golfo Dulce, but the President avoided this.
Different case as it would occur in Bocas del toro, where the Costa Ricans were victorious against the Panamanian forces, because in the province there would only be between 20 to 35 volunteers against ~2000 Costa Rican soldiers using the United Fruit Company railroad of the province. The war would end due to an armistice by the United States but the conflict would not be resolved until 1941. In the 1924 Elections, the cheerleaders and chiaristas would compete again for the presidency between General Manuel Quintero Villareal (the main Panamanian official of the Guerra de Coto) and Rodolfo Chiari, who had allied himself with the Conservative Party, winning the elections.
His presidency was characterized by being very turbulent, mainly due to the Tenant Movement of 1925 (where the president would ask for support for the Canal Zone, entering 600 US soldiers from the area to repress Panamanian protesters and occupying for several different days points of the city) and the Guna Revolution, in the same year.
1930s
He would be succeeded by President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena who would have to face the Great Depression, in 1931 he was overthrown by the 1931 Coup d'état by Acción Comunal, a nationalist organization, but the assembly did not accept Harmodio Arias as president and Ricardo Alfaro was elected the First Designate (what at the time was the Vice President) as provisional president until the 1932 elections where Arias managed to win them.
In 1932, the National Revolutionary Party, was created by Harmondio Arias Madrid's brother, Arnulfo Arias Madrid and Ezequiel Fernández. As president, he developed a work plan for public works that promoted the construction of schools, public offices, and sanitation works, which made it possible to provide sewerage to some towns in the interior. In 1933 he made a trip to the capital of the United States of America in order to negotiate a new treaty on the Panama Canal. On that trip he laid the foundations for the future Alfaro-Hull Treaty. On February 1, 1934, he escaped unharmed from an attack, and in 1935 he founded the University of Panama.
The Arias-Roosevelt Treaty of 1936, signed by presidents Harmodio Arias Madrid of Panama and Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, annuls the principle of US military intervention in the internal affairs of the Panamanian state, changing the legal concept of country protected by the United States to guarantee its independence.
With the passage of time, the Liberal Party divided again in 1932 (Doctrinal Liberal Party, the Renewing Liberal Party and the Democratic Liberal Party) in the 1936 elections, Belisario Porras would return to Panama with the intention of participating in the presidential elections of that year and would face Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, where the last one would win.
The Normal School of Santiago would be created and the IV Central American and Caribbean Games would take place all in 1938. Arosemena would die in 1939 during his presidency of natural causes, being replaced by 2 interim presidents one after the other (Ezequiel Fernández and Augusto Samuel Boyd) until the 1940 elections.
1940 - 1952
The decade of the 40s would begin, in the presidential elections of 1940 they would be won by Arnulfo Arias Madrid, under the Revolutionary Party. During the first year of his government he carried out important reformist and modernizing work, which included: the promulgation of the Constitution of 1941; the creation of the Social Security Fund; foundation of the Agricultural and Industrial Bank, nationalization of retail trade; regulation of the practice of law; of Banks, of Commerce; creation of family patrimony; the vote was granted to women; Paper money was issued thanks to the creation of a Central Bank.
His opposition to the demands of the United States, on the threshold of World War II, as well as the internal dissatisfaction of some sectors, led to his overthrow in October 1941 with the coup d'état of the same year. Taking advantage of a surprise trip he made to the city of Havana to treat a physical ailment.
The next president would be Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia. During his presidency he became a great ally of the United States, mainly because of World War II, leasing 134 military bases throughout the country through the Fábrega-Wilson Agreement and being the first Latin American country to declare war on the Axis on December 7, 1941 (the Third German Empire and the Japanese Empire) even before the United States itself, which would do so the following day. With the lease of these military bases, an economic boost would be given to the country. He would be temporarily succeeded by President Enrique A. Jiménez, who was characterized as an extraordinary figure with the gifts of a great statesman. which offered quick solutions to problems, promoted the autonomy of the University of Panama by providing its own land and a solid economic base for its functions.
During his tenure, in 1946, a new Constitution was promulgated, which repealed the 1941 Constitution, also during his tenure the Filós-Hines Treaty was signed, which guaranteed the permanence of North American troops in strategic territories for the defense of the Canal. This produced the demonstration of thousands of people, for which the President ordered the suspension of individual guarantees. In the end, the popular outcry was heard and the National Assembly rejected the treaty twelve days after it was signed.
In 1948 the Colon Free Zone was created as an autonomous institution of the Panamanian state, by President Jiménez, through a free zone that takes advantage of the geographical position, port resources and the canal as a passage for world shipping routes.
In 1948, in the elections of that year, Domingo Arias Arosemena would win, who would begin to have health complications which forced the appointment of his first designated Daniel Chanis Pinzón, he assumed the constitutional presidency of Panama until the end of his term. However, four months later, due to pressure from the head of the National Police, José Antonio Remón Cantera, he had to resign.
In effect, the Supreme Court of Justice accepted "conditionally" on November 20, 1949 the resignation of President Chanis and swore in Roberto Chiari, his constitutional successor; when the National Assembly meets on November 21, 1949, Chanis withdrew his resignation, stating that he was coerced, and the Assembly on November 22, 1949 rejected the resignation. The Supreme Court of Justice on November 24, 1949 declared that Chanis would continue to hold the position of President of the Republic and informed Roberto Chiari that his permanence at the Head of State was only temporary.
The National Police rejected the decision taken by the Legislative and Judicial Bodies and overthrew Chanis, preventing him from reaching the Palacio de las Garzas and offering the Presidency to Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid, he was subsequently deposed by a wave of protests and popular revolt of Panamanian citizenship with the support of the National Police by the authoritarian government that led to his dismissal in 1951 between followers of Arnulfo and the National Guard in the Palacio de las Garzas, after which the vice president, Alcibiades Arosemena, would be elected during a serious political and economic crisis in the country.
Police chief José Antonio Remón would win the 1952 elections. As president he would govern with a high degree of harshness with repression of communist groups, establishing ties with the United States and the creation of the National Guard in 1953. The signing of the Remón-Eisenhower Treaty of 1955, between President Remón and President Dwight David Eisenhower of the United States, grants new economic advantages and the payment of leases to Panama for the canal.
The signing of the Remón-Eisenhower Treaty of 1955, between President Remón and President Dwight David Eisenhower of the United States, grants new economic advantages and the payment of leases to Panama for the canal.
In 1955, President Remón is assassinated at the Juan Franco Hippodrome (now Presidente Remón) still maintaining the case in various doubts about his homicide. (Following 2 interim presidents until the end of their term)
In 1959, during the presidency of Ernesto de la Guardia, a Cuban invasion of the country occurred, between Cuban mercenaries and Panamanian revolutionaries (Curiously led by Roberto Arias, the nephew of former President Arnulfo). In order to overthrow the government with a coup.
The Bridge of the Americas, the main structure over the Panama Canal by land over the isthmus, is inaugurated on October 12, 1962. It becomes an alternative to the use of the already regular ferry that crossed the canal.
On January 9, 1964, students from the National Institute led a movement to demand the raising of the Panamanian flag along with the American one in the canal zone, according to the Chiari-Kennedy agreements of 1962, ending in student riots and confrontations with the civilian population. As a measure to control the situation, the governor of the Canal Zone authorized the US army to open fire on Panamanian civilians, leaving 23 dead and more than 400 wounded. The President of Panama Roberto F. Chiari, in an unprecedented situation in the American continent, breaks diplomatic relations with the United States of America and declares that they will not restart until it is agreed to open negotiations for a new treaty. In April of that year, both nations reestablished diplomatic relations and US President Lyndon Johnson agreed to start talks with the purpose of eliminating the causes of conflict between the two nations.
In 1965, Panama and the United States signed the Robles-Johnson Declaration, between the presidents Marco Aurelio Robles of Panama and Lyndon Johnson of the United States, in which issues such as canal administration, exploration for a level canal by a new route, and the defense of the waterway.
Despite what it might sound like, in the Government of President Ro, he tried to include members of the middle class in Panamanian political life, but with highly questionable results as one of the governments with the highest rate was produced. of corruption in the country.
During the years 1967 and 1968, the political life of the country was in a constant crisis, due to the fights between President Robles, the assembly and the national guard, so much so that on 2 occasions the assembly tried to appoint Max Delvalle as the new president, but due to the attacks by the national guard they prevented this and President Robles continued to govern until the end of his term (The main political turbulence was due to the fact that Robles supported the candidacy of David Samudio Ávila, who had been his Minister of Finance and Treasury, with companies and public funds).
This could have served as the main antecedent of what would happen in October 1968.
Military dictatorship
On October 11, 1968, only a few days after Arnulfo Arias Madrid assumed the presidency, the middle commands of the National Guard, led by Boris Martínez, seconded by Colonel Omar Torrijos Herrera, staged a coup in the official statement the coup leaders indicated that the attempt to violate the popular will in the legislative elections, as well as the illegal integration of the Electoral Tribunal, had led them to adopt the decision to assume power through a provisional government that would prepare the return to order democratic. Establishing the beginning of a military dictatorship in the country that lasted 21 years, under 4 different regimes that were, the Military Junta (1968 to 1969), Omar Torrijos also called "The Revolutionary Process" (1969 to 1981), Rubén Darío Paredes (1981 to 1983) and Manuel Antonio Noriega (1983 to 1989). Under these 4 regimes, exiles and disappearances occurred, as well as armed movements in favor of Arnulfo Arias Madrid in Piedra Candela in the Province of Chiriquí and Huacas del Ige in the Province of Coclé that were defeated by the National Guard, resulting in human losses in both sides. In 1972 the military government of General Torrijos issued a new political constitution (still in force under the reforms of 1983 and 2003) in which he was recognized as the leader of the revolutionary process of October 11 and head of the Panamanian state.
Torrijos implemented a populist policy, with the inauguration of schools and the creation of employment, the redistribution of agricultural land (which was the most popular measure of his government). The reforms were accompanied by a major public works program. He is also confronting the North American multinationals, which are demanding wage increases for workers and the redistribution of 180,000 hectares of uncultivated land. In February 1974, following the OPEC model for oil, he tried to form the Union of Banana Exporting Countries with the other Central American states to respond to the influence of these multinationals, but did not obtain their support. His politics promote the emergence of a middle class and the representation of indigenous communities.
On September 7, 1977, the Torrijos Carter Treaty was signed at the Headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington between the head of government of Panama, Omar Torrijos Herrera, and the president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.
In 1981 General Torrijos died in a plane crash.
After the death of Omar Torrijos, a generational replacement was established within the National Guard, which included the following names: General Rubén Darío Paredes, Roberto Díaz Herrera and Manuel Antonio Noriega. Paredes took over as General in Chief of the National Guard for a short time. The regime closed mass-published newspapers and censored any publication against the government of the day. General Paredes had political aspirations, especially to be president of Panama, and he launched himself confident of the support of the military along with Noriega in the May 1984 elections, and handed over command of the Armed Forces to Manuel Antonio Noriega; having a total disaster and being retired In August 1983, General de Cuatro Estrellas, Manuel Antonio Noriega, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, who transformed the armed institution into the Panama Defense Forces. General Noriega was accused of drug trafficking, corruption and electoral fraud in 1984 by Dr. Hugo Spadafora, who was assassinated, provoking protests and demonstrations by the Panamanian population, which were brutally repressed by the Defense Forces. During the following years, the country fell into an economic and social recession, when the Human Development Index went from 0.769 in 1985 to 0.765 in 1990; GDP contracted for two years in a row (1987: -1.8), (1988: -13.3). Later in May 1989, by instructions of General Noriega, the electoral results for presidential elections were annulled, suspending the constitution in September and assuming control of the Panamanian nation as head of the war cabinet, declaring Panama in a state of war with USA. USA
American invasion
On December 20, 1989, the U.S. The USA invaded Panama. On January 3, 1990, after two weeks of siege at the Nunciature, Noriega turned himself in to US troops and on January 12, the Pentagon declared Operation Just Cause to have concluded. Noriega was brought before the US courts accused of drug trafficking, and marking the end of the military dictatorship in Panama.
Human Rights Watch estimated 300 civilian deaths during the invasion, while the United Nations estimated 500 civilian deaths. Figures estimating thousands of civilian casualties were widely rejected in Panama. Human Rights Watch described the reaction of the Panamanian civilian population to the invasion as "generally sympathetic".
Democratic age
During the invasion, at the Howard military base, under US control at the time, Guillermo Endara Galimany, Ricardo Arias, and Guillermo Ford were sworn in as president, first vice president, and second vice president of the Republic, respectively. Endara would have been the winner of the previous elections of May 7, 1989, abolished by the military regime of Manuel Antonio Noriega and due to which, on September 1, 1989, Francisco Rodríguez Poveda took office as President of the Republic, member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party.
On December 27, 1989, a new scrutiny by the Electoral Tribunal of the tally sheets corresponding to 83.1% of the polling stations gave Endara 62.5% of the votes compared to 24.9% for Carlos Alberto Duque Jaén, supported by the pro-government National Liberation Coalition (COLINA), made up of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, the Liberal Party, the National Labor Party, and others. After this certification, the Arnulfista leader was proclaimed president and his inauguration was validated retroactively. The lawyer registered as the candidate of the Democratic Alliance of Civil Opposition (ADOC), which brought together three formations of the center-right and moderate and anti-military nationalism: the Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), led by Arnulfo Escalona Ríos; the PDC, of Ricardo Arias Calderón and the MOLIRENA, of Guillermo Ford Boyd; the legitimist dissidents of the PPA and the small Popular Action Party (PAPA) also closed ranks with Endara. The ADOC had obtained 51 of the 67 seats in the Assembly, 27 of these, from the Christian Democratic Party.
On February 10, 1990, the government of President Endara issued an executive decree reorganizing the police force. In accordance with the executive decree, the Panama Defense Forces were abolished retroactively to December 22 of 1989 and in its place a National Police (PN), a National Maritime Service (SMN), a National Air Service (SAN) and an Institutional Protection Service (SPI) were created, later on November 15, 1992 It is held in a referendum on constitutional reforms, among which was the abolition of the Army, which was rejected by almost 60% of the votes, some time later the old 'legislative assembly' approves the abolition of the army, which leads the nation for the first time since 1968 to a transparent electoral process in 1994, where the opposition candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares wins, who through a combination of alliances within the PRD manages to retake the political power lost in 1989, winning with only 33% of the votes due to the non-existence of a second electoral round in the country and the fact that there were 7 candidates for the presidency.
The administration of government from 1994 to 1999 was highlighted by an intense reform of the Panamanian State, started by Endara and continued by Pérez Balladares. These reforms included, among others, the privatization of public service providers (nationalized by the same party in the 1960s) of energy (IRHE) and telecommunications (INTEL), gambling companies, the ports of Cristóbal and Manzanillo on the Atlantic coast and Balboa on the Pacific, the state cement company and the transisthmian railway, among others, an economic adjustment program and a labor reform that makes the process of dismissing a worker cheaper in favor of employers.
This series of neoliberal tendencies, although they move away from the social democratic sense of the party, favoring individualism and not equality in the distribution of wealth, also establishes a turning point for the emergence of various theories policies within the PRD and the subsequent internal democratization of the majority of the country's political groups.
A series of constitutional changes were also proposed, among which was included the proposal for the President of the Republic of Panama to have the option of the people to re-elect him for a second immediate term. In the referendum carried out later, 63.8% of the population voted against the proposal; the rejection was considered a vote to punish the government of President Ernesto Pérez Balladares.
Mireya Moscoso, widow of former President Arnulfo Arias, won the elections in 1999, becoming the first woman to preside over the Panamanian government. On December 31, 1999, in faithful compliance with the Torrijos-Cárter treaties, the Republic of Panama assumes full control of the Panama Canal.
In May 2004, Licenciado Martín Torrijos Espino, son of General Omar Torrijos, won the elections. He held the position from September of the same year, until June 30, 2009.
Ricardo Martinelli, a millionaire businessman who won the elections in May 2009 with 61% acceptance against Balbina Herrera and Guillermo Endara, taking possession of the government administration from July 1, 2009 to the day First of July 2014.
Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez is a Panamanian engineer, businessman and politician. He served as Vice President of Panama (2009-2014) and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2011, he was replaced by President Ricardo Martinelli, an act that caused the rupture of the government alliance between Panameñista and Cambio Democrático.
Following the presidential elections on May 4, 2014, he was elected president of Panama by defeating the pro-government candidate José Domingo Arias with 39% of the votes cast. He assumes the position of president on July 1, succeeding Ricardo Martinelli.
In 2016 and after several years of work, one of the most representative engineering works of the XXI century: the expansion of the Panama Canal; headed by a Spanish company and carried out with a large Panamanian presence (unlike the construction of the original canal in the last century, whose stamp was markedly American).
Laurentino Cortizo is the current President of the Republic of Panama. He won the 2019 general elections in Panama with 33.35% of the vote. His main rivals, Rómulo Roux and Ricardo Lombana, had 30.99% and 18.78% respectively. This was the first time in the history of Panama that an independent candidate obtained such a large number of votes.
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