719.00/5–1451
Memorandum by the Officer in Charge of Central American and Panama Affairs (Bennett) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Miller)1
Subject: New Administration in Panama
A cursory look at the Arosemena Cabinet would seem to provide little hope for any real stability in the Panamanian political scene beyond the immediate future. The Cabinet is a hodge-podge coalition ranging from extreme right to extreme left. It includes people who as late as last week were ardent supporters of Arnulfo Arias as well as at least one individual who has a record of communist sympathy. Some of the changes lend further credence to the charge made at the time of the 1949 revolution, that Panama is the double crossroads of the Hemisphere.
It should be borne in mind that extreme violence in Government changes in Panama is very rare. I cannot think offhand of any other revolution in recent years in which anyone got killed. The presence of the Canal Zone does not allow reinforcements to be brought into the capital from the interior. Also the tempering influence of the U.S. and the characteristics of the people in Government in Panama have traditionally resulted in palace revolutions in the political game of musical [Page 1550] chairs indulged in by the upper classes. The blood letting of last week’s fight has probably stunned the country, and we can look forward to a short period of quiet. However, it is too much to expect that a Cabinet as jerry-built as the one announced by Arosemena can long endure. It just isn’t in the cards that all these people will suddenly have common interests. After a period of calm we can expect the jockeying to begin again with the various groups represented in the Cabinet looking out for their own interests rather than for the national good.
From our point of view, the Cabinet is decidedly unimpressive. The President himself has been completely chameleonic in his attitude toward the U.S. He has always been a devoted supporter of Arnulfo Arias and has followed all the shifts and turns of the checkered career of that individual. He opposed us in the vital Rio Hato Highway agreement during the war and in the Defense Sites Agreement of 1947.2 As late as 1945, the office of the Legal Attaché at Panama described him as “always a strong Axis supporter”. He has however an attractive personality, is personally wealthy (real estate and cattle), and will probably see the obvious necessity as Arnulfo did of getting along with us. It cannot be said that he is anti-U.S. at the present time although one of his sons, Rodrigo, is a member of the anti-U.S. Ultra Nationalist Patriotic Youth Front and an intimate friend of Ricardo Bermudez (see below).
Unless they have changed their spots entirely, several members of the Cabinet can be expected to play us for what we are worth.
Perhaps a majority of the Cabinet has strong nationalist feelings, tempered with opportunism. The new Minister of Government and Justice, Miguel Angel Ordoñez (ranking member of the Cabinet) was an Arnulfista Deputy and is said to be ultra-nationalist. Juan de Arco Galindo, Minister of Public Health (married to Julio Heurtematte’s sister) and Varela3 are all considered to be opportunists, and Navarro4 has been something less than friendly to us in the past. Minister of Finance Victor Navas is also quite nationalistic and suffers from a racial complex. He is, however, quite independent in his views and had a good record as Governor of Colón. Molino,5 the new Foreign Minister, and Samudio,6 the Minister of Agriculture, are both friendly to us. Molino, who has worked very closely with us in the past, will be a great improvement over Brin. But, he is not particularly popular in Panama and has been the object of attacks by nationalist and leftist elements because of his pro-U.S. attitude and American wife.
The appointment of Ricardo Bermudez as Minister of Education is shocking. A leading member of the Patriotic Youth Front and always [Page 1551] in the fore in anti-U.S. attacks and projects, Bermudez was described by our Embassy in 1949 as “extremely anti-American with bond of nationalist intellectual sympathy for communists because of their consistent enmity of U.S.”. Although Bermudez has apparently never become a card-carrying communist, his record was such as to lead the Embassy to deny him a visa in 1949. This fact is known throughout Panama. In view of his intimacy with Arosemena’s son, it is already apparent that he has ready access to the Presidential household. Since the line between him and the communists is so thin, it is not perhaps looking too far to see their hand in his choice of the Ministry of Education as his portfolio.
The assumption of power by the above group may bring, with respect to dealings with the U.S., some responsibility, or at least a recognition of the realities of life. The bite of Panamanian politicians is seldom as bad as their bark once they are actually in power. However, it is definitely not in the interests of the U.S. to have such men as Bermudez in the Cabinet of Panama.
- Addressed also to Mr. Mann, Ambassador Nufer, and Messrs. Siracusa and Sowash.↩
- For documentation on this subject, see Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. viii, pp. 881 ff.↩
- José Manuel Varela, Secretary General of the Presidency.↩
- Norberto Navarro, Minister of Public Works.↩
- Ignacio Molino, Jr.↩
- David Samudio.↩