Mireya moscoso biography channel

34th President of Panama (1999–2004)

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family honour is Moscoso, the second or careful family name is Rodríguez.

Mireya Assay Moscoso Rodríguez (born 1 July 1946) is a Panamanian stateswoman who served as the Guide of Panama from 1999 tongue-lash 2004.

She is the country's first and to date one and only female president.^[1]

Born into a bucolic family, Moscoso became active intimate the 1968 presidential campaign pursuit three-time president Arnulfo Arias, later and marrying him when purify went into exile after first-class military coup. After his dying in 1988, she assumed government of his coffee business title later his political party, depiction Arnulfista Party (PA).

During authority 1994 general elections for nobility presidency, she narrowly lost count up the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares mass 4% of the vote. The same the 1999 general election, she defeated the PRD candidate Martín Torrijos by 7% to die Panama's first female president.

During her tenure in office, she presided over the handover simulated the Panama Canal from integrity US to Panama and greatness economic downturn that resulted immigrant the loss of US section. Hobbled by new spending check passed by the opposition-controlled Deliberative Assembly, and her administration's degradation scandals, she had difficulty brief her legislative initiatives.

Her approval declined, and her party's runner José Miguel Alemán lost be acquainted with the PRD's Torrijos in justness subsequent general elections to replace her.

Background

Moscoso was born temper 1 July 1946 into well-ordered poor family in Pedasí, Panama, as the youngest of appal children.^[2][3] Her schoolteacher father correctly when she was ten, suggest Moscoso began working as unornamented secretary upon completing her excessive school education.^[4] She joined illustriousness 1968 presidential campaign of Arnulfo Arias;^[2] Arias had already served two partial terms as skipper, both times being deposed bid the Panamanian military.

He won the presidency but was adjust deposed by the military, that time after only eleven life in office.

Arias went into runaway in Miami, Florida, in illustriousness US, and Moscoso followed, fellowship him the subsequent year.^[2] She was 23, and he was 67. During this period, Moscoso studied interior design at Miami-Dade Community College.^[7] After Arias' 1988 death, she inherited his biscuit business.^[8] On 29 September 1991, almost two years after influence US invasion of Panama go off at a tangent overthrew Manuel Noriega, she became president of her late husband's Arnulfista Party.^[3]

Also in 1991, Moscoso married businessman Richard Gruber.

Primacy couple adopted a son, Economist (born c. 1992).^[9][10] Moscoso have a word with Gruber divorced in 1997.^[3]

In 1994, Moscoso ran as the statesmanlike candidate of her deceased husband's Arnulfista Party (PA) in representation general election, seeking to come after PA president Guillermo Endara.

Break down main rivals were Democratic Rebel Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares and salsa singer Rubén Blades, who was then concert-master of the party Papa Egoro. Moscoso and Blades sought limit emphasize Pérez Balladares' connection handle military ruler Manuel Noriega, revelation pictures of the two together,^[11] while Pérez Balladares worked truth position himself as a issue to military ruler Omar Torrijos, who was regarded as put in order national hero.^[12] Moscoso's campaign, meantime, was hindered by public nonfulfilment with the perceived incompetence arm corruption of Endara's government.^[12] Pérez Balladares ultimately won the vote with 33% of the referendum, with Moscoso receiving 29% give orders to Blades receiving 17%.^[13]

Moscoso was christened the PA candidate again story the 2 May 1999, regular election.

Her main opponent that time was Martín Torrijos, Omar Torrijos' son, named to sum up the PRD after the crunch of a constitutional referendum turn this way would have allowed Pérez Balladares to run for a following term. Torrijos was selected detect part to try to catch back left-leaning voters after dignity privatizations and union restrictions instituted by Pérez Balladares.

Moscoso ran on a populist platform, say again many of her speeches refer to the Latin phrase "Vox populi, vox Dei" ("the voice style the people is the schedule of God"), previously used emergency Arias to begin his reduction speeches.^[14] She pledged to foundation education, reduce poverty, and peaceful the pace of privatization.^[2] At long last Torrijos ran in large imprison on his father's memory—including expend the campaign slogan "Omar lives"^[14]—Moscoso evoked that of her brand husband, leading Panamanians to sardonic remark that the election was unornamented race between "two corpses".^[8] Torrijos allies also criticized Moscoso meant for her lack of government consider or college degree.^[8] However, distinct from in 1994, it was these days the PRD that was taxed by the scandals of honourableness previous administration, and Moscoso discomfited Torrijos with 45% of justness vote to 37%.

Moscoso took entreaty on 1 September 1999.^[15][16] In that she was divorced when she assumed the presidency, her senior sister Ruby Moscoso de Adolescent served as her First Lady.^[17]

Facing a PRD-controlled Legislative Assembly, Moscoso was limited in her facility to make new policy.

She was also hampered by stern new restraints Pérez Balladares difficult passed on spending public impoverish in the final days have a high regard for his term, targeted specifically even her administration.

On 31 December 1999, Moscoso oversaw the handover earthly the Panama Canal from leadership US to Panama under high-mindedness Torrijos–Carter Treaties.^[19] Her government redouble faced the challenge of cleanup up environmental problems in class Canal Zone, where the Leisurely Army had long tested bombs, biological agents, and chemical weapons.

Remaining issues included lead soiling, unexploded munitions, and stockpiles hegemony depleted uranium. Though Moscoso dismissed all of Pérez Balladares' goods from the Panama Canal Authority^[2] and appointed supermarket magnate (and future president) Ricardo Martinelli significance its head,^[7] the Authority spoken for its autonomy from her administration.^[2] At the same time, Panama's economy began to struggle terminate to the loss of revenues from American canal personnel.^[21]

Moscoso hollow to end Panama's role conduct yourself international crime, passing new log against money laundering and behaviour tax transparency.^[22] The legislation licit Panama to be removed carry too far international lists of tax havens.

Meanwhile, violent crime rose acerbically during Moscoso's tenure. In Sept 2000, under pressure from glory US and some Latin Inhabitant governments, Moscoso's government gave transitory asylum to former Peruvian secret agent chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who difficult to understand fled Peru after being videotaped bribing a member of secure congress.^[22]

In December 2000, human clay were discovered at a Panamanian National Guard base, incorrectly alleged to be those of Jesús Héctor Gallego Herrera, a clergywoman murdered during the Omar Torrijos dictatorship.

Moscoso appointed a fact commission to investigate the time and those at other bases. The commission faced opposition give birth to the PRD-controlled National Assembly, who slashed its funding, and hold up PRD's president Balbina Herrera, who threatened to seek legal work stoppage against the president for neat creation. It ultimately reported assembly 110 of the 148 cases it examined, of which 40 had disappeared and 70 were known to be murdered.

Grandeur report concluded that the Noriega government had engaged in "torture [and] cruel, inhuman, and shaming treatment", and recommended further deed and investigation.^[24]

During her term, Moscoso was often accused of bent for her administrative appointments^[2] deliver faced several corruption scandals, specified as the unexplained gift lecture US$146,000 in watches to Lawgiving Assembly members.^[25] By 2001, team up second year in office, Moscoso's approval rating had fallen on a par with 23%, due to corruption scandals and concern for the conservatism.

That year, she attempted extinguish pass a tax reform box through the Legislative Assembly, however the proposal was opposed in and out of both the private sector extort organized labor.^[26] In 2003, justness US ambassador publicly criticized Moscoso for the growth of dishonesty during her term.^[27] By grandeur end of her term, shun presidency was "criticized as widespread with corruption and incompetence"^[28] weather "widely regarded as weak abide ineffectual".^[29]

She was criticized in 2004 when the press revealed saunter she had spent hundreds vacation thousands of dollars at get out expense on luxury clothing queue jewelry during her presidency.^[30]

Herself fastened by the Constitution of Panama from a second consecutive momentary, Moscoso was succeeded by irregular former rival Martín Torrijos hut the 2004 election.

Shortly heretofore leaving office, Moscoso sparked argumentation by pardoning four men—Luis Posada Carriles, Gaspar Jiménez, Pedro Remon, and Guillermo Novo Sampol—who difficult to understand been convicted of plotting dissertation assassinate Cuban president Fidel Socialist during a 2000 visit make ill Panama. Cuba broke off considerate relations with the country, abide Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez withdraw the nation's ambassador.^[31] Moscoso assumed that the pardons had archaic motivated by her mistrust presumption Torrijos, saying, "I knew ensure if these men stayed forth, they would be extradited sentinel Cuba and Venezuela, and in attendance they were surely going satisfy kill them there."^[32] Moscoso additionally issued pardons to 87 host for defamation convictions dating decline as far as 14 existence.

On 2 July 2008, each and every of the 180 pardons Moscoso had issued were overturned primate unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.^[33]

During the Torrijos presidency, Moscoso remained an active member of high-mindedness opposition. In September 2007, she criticized the appointment as class head of the National Group of PRD politician Pedro Miguel González, who was wanted stop in midsentence the US for the massacre of US Army sergeant Zak Hernández.^[34] In the same twelvemonth, she joined Endara and Pérez Balladares in lobbying the Structure of American States to review the Hugo Chávez government's rejection to renew the broadcasting accredit of opposition station Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional in Venezuela.^[35]

Since departure office, Moscoso has also served as a member of high-mindedness Woodrow Wilson International Center apportion Scholars' Council of Women Earth Leaders,^[36][37] a network intended "to promote good governance and awaken the experience of democracy to each by increasing the number, ability, and visibility of women who lead at the highest levels in their countries."^[38]

Honors

Foreign honours

References

Bibliography

External links