The opposing editorial line of Editora Panama America (Epasa) has been the essential reason that the Government of President Juan Carlos Varela has begun to implement strategies intended to close down this communications group through the Public Ministry (PM).
Fformer Minister of Security José Raúl Mulino has accordingly declared that it is a highly dangerous strategy for the Government of Varela to seek to silence these media that get in his management’s way.
"Stating that he does not interfere in the Justice organ is like stating that he does not know anything about the production of Seco Herrerano. This lie is already customary and manipulation of justice has become an already known secret. "But forging in the judicial organ a strategy to silence three means of communication that gets in their way, apart from being out of proportion, is a fact that will mark his transitory control of power".
Mulino said that "Varela counts on a newspaper serving his attempts of persecuting. But Epasa is a thorn and Varela has shown that he really is not a saint and his political life is an eternal contradiction"
He stressed that the political objective of the Government is still Martinelli, CD, Epasa, Nex TV and everything that is related to them".
Meanwhile Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) Zulay Rodríguez agrees that Epasa has had an editorial line with which the Government has been unhappy through various officials, such as legislator José Luis "Popi" Varela, who has already made public threats.
He also mentioned legislator Jorge Iván Arrocha as a participant in this persecution to Epasa because he had documentation of accounts and banking movements that were not obtained, according to him, in a legal way.
Rodriguez suspects that the PM is paying special attention to Epasa, while disregarding the alleged links of Varela Hermanos with Odebrecht.
He added that now that they are trying to silence those communications media which are not aligned with this Government’s way of thinking, however people says nothing.
For former judge of the Electoral Court Gerardo Solis, this is nothing more than an attack by the corrupted government, and the devilish hairy hand of the Executive Branch which does not want to listen to the opposition, and is doing everything so that the powerful arm of the public prosecutor and the judiciary organ appointed by President Varela can close down these media.
Faced with this situation, Solis warned that everything is, judicially speaking, an attempt to take over the administration of these communications media comprising Panama America, Crítica and Día a Día.
"They want to keep the country silent so that the people don't get to know what we all know, that is, this Government is rotten by corruption", argued the former official.
In his view, there are things that Varela does not want to pay attention to, as for example, the truth about what happens with Odebrecht.
Meanwhile Rafael Reyes, President of the Chamber of Provincial Transportation (CPTP), asked President Varela to think well about any intention to close down these media, as this would be an attempt against the freedom of expression.
He explained that the criticisms and questions should be taken into account because this would serve to improve his administration.
"Freedom of expression has to be secured and maintained because if it weren’t for the media, the Panamanian people would not realize about more than four things".
In the face of the attacks to Epasa, Reyes added that as a road haulier, he supports the workers, so they can count on his back-up for actions to be taken in the streets to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, members of the National Service of Road and Tourist Transport S.A. warned that, as Panamanians and road hauliers, they cannot allow that any means of communication are closed because freedom of expression is the path to a free and sovereign Republic.
