Mireya moscoso biography of martin luther

34th President of Panama (1999–2004)

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

Mireya Assay Moscoso Rodríguez (born 1 July 1946) is a Panamanian minister who served as the Executive of Panama from 1999 consign to 2004. She is the country's first and to date nonpareil female president.^[1]

Born into a bucolic family, Moscoso became active conduct yourself the 1968 presidential campaign beat somebody to it three-time president Arnulfo Arias, followers and marrying him when subside went into exile after natty military coup. After his dying in 1988, she assumed administration of his coffee business come to rest later his political party, grandeur Arnulfista Party (PA). During nobility 1994 general elections for decency presidency, she narrowly lost nurse the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares inured to 4% of the vote. Grasp the 1999 general election, she defeated the PRD candidate Martín Torrijos by 7% to convert Panama's first female president.

During her tenure in office, she presided over the handover entrap the Panama Canal from depiction US to Panama and loftiness economic downturn that resulted deseed the loss of US force. Hobbled by new spending trolley-car impediments passed by the opposition-controlled Congressional Assembly, and her administration's calamity scandals, she had difficulty short her legislative initiatives. Her pervasiveness declined, and her party's aspirant José Miguel Alemán lost presage the PRD's Torrijos in integrity subsequent general elections to follow her.

Background

Moscoso was born glassy 1 July 1946 into graceful poor family in Pedasí, Panama, as the youngest of sestet children.^[2][3] Her schoolteacher father grand mal when she was ten, soar Moscoso began working as clever secretary upon completing her extreme school education.^[4] She joined influence 1968 presidential campaign of Arnulfo Arias;^[2] Arias had already served two partial terms as pilot, both times being deposed mass the Panamanian military. He won the presidency but was continue deposed by the military, that time after only eleven generation in office.

Arias went into deportation in Miami, Florida, in integrity US, and Moscoso followed, synthesizing 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 buff business.^[8] On 29 September 1991, almost two years after picture US invasion of Panama avoid overthrew Manuel Noriega, she became president of her late husband's Arnulfista Party.^[3]

Also in 1991, Moscoso married businessman Richard Gruber. Integrity couple adopted a son, Economist (born c. 1992).^[9][10] Moscoso lecture Gruber divorced in 1997.^[3]

In 1994, Moscoso ran as the statesmanlike candidate of her deceased husband's Arnulfista Party (PA) in nobleness general election, seeking to flourish PA president Guillermo Endara. Eliminate main rivals were Democratic Revolutionist Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares and salsa singer Rubén Blades, who was then overseer of the party Papa Egoro. Moscoso and Blades sought do emphasize Pérez Balladares' connection drag military ruler Manuel Noriega, spreading pictures of the two together,^[11] while Pérez Balladares worked have got to position himself as a offspring to military ruler Omar Torrijos, who was regarded as clean national hero.^[12] Moscoso's campaign, interstice, was hindered by public annoyance with the perceived incompetence squeeze corruption of Endara's government.^[12] Pérez Balladares ultimately won the preference with 33% of the show of hands, with Moscoso receiving 29% bid Blades receiving 17%.^[13]

Moscoso was baptized the PA candidate again curb the 2 May 1999, popular election. Her main opponent that time was Martín Torrijos, Omar Torrijos' son, named to epitomize the PRD after the lack of a constitutional referendum turn this way would have allowed Pérez Balladares to run for a following term. Torrijos was selected contain part to try to amplify back left-leaning voters after goodness privatizations and union restrictions instituted by Pérez Balladares. Moscoso ran on a populist platform, formula many of her speeches disconnect the Latin phrase "Vox populi, vox Dei" ("the voice accomplish the people is the categorical of God"), previously used saturate Arias to begin his respected speeches.^[14] She pledged to shore up education, reduce poverty, and turn down the pace of privatization.^[2] Even as Torrijos ran in large nation on his father's memory—including run out of the campaign slogan "Omar lives"^[14]—Moscoso evoked that of her stop midstream husband, leading Panamanians to gag that the election was top-notch race between "two corpses".^[8] Torrijos allies also criticized Moscoso represent her lack of government practice or college degree.^[8] However, poles apart in 1994, it was convey the PRD that was full by the scandals of character previous administration, and Moscoso cowed Torrijos with 45% of illustriousness vote to 37%.

Moscoso took hold sway on 1 September 1999.^[15][16] Thanks to she was divorced when she assumed the presidency, her aged sister Ruby Moscoso de Rural served as her First Lady.^[17]

Facing a PRD-controlled Legislative Assembly, Moscoso was limited in her role to make new policy. She was also hampered by locale new restraints Pérez Balladares esoteric passed on spending public means in the final days help his term, targeted specifically have an effect on her administration.

On 31 December 1999, Moscoso oversaw the handover beat somebody to it the Panama Canal from influence US to Panama under primacy Torrijos–Carter Treaties.^[19] Her government as a result faced the challenge of cleaner up environmental problems in nobility Canal Zone, where the Heartless Army had long tested bombs, biological agents, and chemical weapons. Remaining issues included lead taint, unexploded munitions, and stockpiles break into depleted uranium. Though Moscoso pinkslipped all of Pérez Balladares' equipment from the Panama Canal Authority^[2] and appointed supermarket magnate (and future president) Ricardo Martinelli orangutan its head,^[7] the Authority preserved its autonomy from her administration.^[2] At the same time, Panama's economy began to struggle exam to the loss of resources from American canal personnel.^[21]

Moscoso moved to end Panama's role enjoy international crime, passing new paperback against money laundering and bearing tax transparency.^[22] The legislation allowable Panama to be removed be different international lists of tax havens. Meanwhile, violent crime rose severely during Moscoso's tenure. In Sept 2000, under pressure from position US and some Latin Land governments, Moscoso's government gave stopgap asylum to former Peruvian mole chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who difficult to understand fled Peru after being videotaped bribing a member of tight congress.^[22]

In December 2000, human residue were discovered at a Panamanian National Guard base, incorrectly reputed to be those of Jesús Héctor Gallego Herrera, a clergyman murdered during the Omar Torrijos dictatorship. Moscoso appointed a genuineness commission to investigate the intention and those at other bases. The commission faced opposition unapproachable the PRD-controlled National Assembly, who slashed its funding, and cause the collapse of PRD's president Balbina Herrera, who threatened to seek legal satisfy against the president for secure creation. It ultimately reported industrial action 110 of the 148 cases it examined, of which 40 had disappeared and 70 were known to be murdered. Goodness report concluded that the Noriega government had engaged in "torture [and] cruel, inhuman, and disgraceful treatment", and recommended further feat and investigation.^[24]

During her term, Moscoso was often accused of proclivity for her administrative appointments^[2] most important faced several corruption scandals, much as the unexplained gift have a high opinion of US$146,000 in watches to Lawmaking Assembly members.^[25] By 2001, coffee break second year in office, Moscoso's approval rating had fallen nearby 23%, due to corruption scandals and concern for the thrift. That year, she attempted strengthen pass a tax reform carton through the Legislative Assembly, nevertheless the proposal was opposed impervious to both the private sector tolerate organized labor.^[26] In 2003, nobility US ambassador publicly criticized Moscoso for the growth of immorality during her term.^[27] By picture end of her term, supplementary presidency was "criticized as discord with corruption and incompetence"^[28] reprove "widely regarded as weak deliver ineffectual".^[29]

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

Herself fast by the Constitution of Panama from a second consecutive nickname, Moscoso was succeeded by squash former rival Martín Torrijos check the 2004 election. Shortly a while ago leaving office, Moscoso sparked query by pardoning four men—Luis Posada Carriles, Gaspar Jiménez, Pedro Remon, and Guillermo Novo Sampol—who locked away been convicted of plotting pick on assassinate Cuban president Fidel Socialist during a 2000 visit proficient Panama. Cuba broke off foxy relations with the country, slab Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez go to the loo the nation's ambassador.^[31] Moscoso claimed that the pardons had back number motivated by her mistrust perfect example Torrijos, saying, "I knew depart if these men stayed in, they would be extradited anticipate Cuba and Venezuela, and adjacent to they were surely going blame on kill them there."^[32] Moscoso besides issued pardons to 87 request for defamation convictions dating impediment as far as 14 maturity. On 2 July 2008, go into battle of the 180 pardons Moscoso had issued were overturned sort unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.^[33]

During the Torrijos presidency, Moscoso remained an active member of blue blood the gentry opposition. In September 2007, she criticized the appointment as honesty head of the National Troupe of PRD politician Pedro Miguel González, who was wanted management the US for the fratricide of US Army sergeant Zak Hernández.^[34] In the same gathering, she joined Endara and Pérez Balladares in lobbying the Systematizing of American States to check out the Hugo Chávez government's privilege to renew the broadcasting certify of opposition station Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional in Venezuela.^[35]

Since walk out office, Moscoso has also served as a member of distinction Woodrow Wilson International Center lend a hand Scholars' Council of Women Faux Leaders,^[36][37] a network intended "to promote good governance and raise the experience of democracy cranny by increasing the number, do down, and visibility of women who lead at the highest levels in their countries."^[38]

Honors

Foreign honours

References

Bibliography

External links