Comment

Readers are invited to address letters to the editor, NACLA, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 454, New York, NY 10115. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. On Panama Having once lived in Panama I read with interest NACLA’s feature “Pan- ama: Reagan’s Last Stand.” [Vol. XXII, No. 4]. But I was disturbed by two faults. Firstly, no mention at all was made of the role played by Panama’s labor coalition, CONATO [the National Council of Organized Workers]. This leaves a false impression that Pan- ama’s people have not been actors in Panama prior to and during the current confrontation. Working class resis- tance to Noriega’s initial cooperation with IMF austerity measures was by no means spontaneous as suggested by the NACLA accounts. During the Barletta period, the labor movement organized widespread strikes and mobilizations that represented the emergence of a maturing working class leadership increasingly independent and critical of the military. After the Diaz Herrera revelations CONATO united with peasant federa- tions and sectors of the popular church to form the Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (COP). Un- der the slogan “Neither with the Right nor the anti-patria” (that is, neither with Noriega nor the civilian opposi- tion) COP sought to remain independ- ent of the two elites fighting for power. As the conflict intensified, Noriega suddenly accepted a long rebuffed CONATO call for a national dialogue. This isolated the Right opposition which began disintegrating thereafter. The Panamanian people then are far from being mere spectators. Secondly, I was most dismayed to read Mayin Correa quoted as an au- thoritative voice on Panama. [See “Opposition Outflanked,” footnotes 4 and 7] Correa has long been identified in progressive circles in Panama as a CIA operative. Among the sources are the torrijista labor paper El Bayano and numerous grassroots leaders. She heads the rabidly pro-fascist anticom- munist Committee to Defend Democ- racy in Central America which is in- fested with Nicaraguan and Cuban contras. To hear the likes of her in one of the few progressive sources on Latin America was most disturbing. Frank Klein Chicago The Authors Reply Organized labor in Panama has al- ways played an important role in movements for social change. How- ever, we must also recognize that the labor movement is not homogeneous; in it all the diverse political currents of Panamanian society are reflected. Both the government and the opposition have worked to keep labor from be- coming an independent base of grass- roots power. Participation should not be confused with leadership. Poor people, including labor, have not been able to achieve an alternative resolu- tion of the crisis and things do not look good for the demands of the poor. Ratil Leis Panama City Mr. Klein correctly observes that Mayin Correa cannot qualify as a spokesperson for the progressive Left in Panama. As a young woman, Ms. Correa actively supported the Com- munist Party. Since then she has in- creasingly adhered to conservative causes. She idolizes Margaret Thatcher and is an outspoken critic of the Sandinistas and liberation theology. She is not a fascist, however, and, like many opposition leaders, advocates U.S.-style democracy. But Mr. Klein is unable to offer evidence that refutes Ms. Correa’s au- thority. El Bayano, like most Panama- nian newspapers, is a rumor tabloid. A long and close association with the Torrijos regime clearly identifies her as an authority in Panama. She is, much to her credit, one of the few important female political figures in Latin America. Mr. Klein is unable to confront the complexities of contemporary Pan- ama. Conservative, progressive as well as criminal elements rub shoulders on all sides, creating a dilemma for any- one accustomed to neat political groupings. John Zindar Washington, D.C.