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Panama The National Guard in Ascendance
A temporary shift in power from the civilian aristocracy to the
National Police occurred immediately after World War II. Between
1948 and 1952, National Police Commander José Antonio Remón
installed and removed presidents with unencumbered ease. Among his
behind-the-scenes manipulations were the denial to Arnulfo Arias of
the presidency he apparently had won in 1948, the installation of
Arias in the presidency in 1949, and the engineering of Arias's
removal from office in 1951. Meanwhile, Remón increased salaries
and fringe benefits for his forces and modernized training methods
and equipment; in effect, he transformed the National Police from
a police into a paramilitary force. In the spheres of security and
public order, he achieved his long-sought goal by transforming the
National Police into the National Guard in 1953 and introduced
greater militarization into the country's only armed force. The
missions and functions were little changed by the new title, but
for Remón, this change was a step toward a national army
(see Historical Background
, ch. 5).
From several preexisting parties and factions, Remón also
organized the National Patriotic Coalition (Coalición Patriótico
Nacional--CPN). He ran successfully as its candidate for the
presidency in 1952. Remón followed national tradition by enriching
himself through political office. He broke with tradition, however,
by promoting social reform and economic development. His
agricultural and industrial programs temporarily reduced the
country's overwhelming economic dependence on the canal and the
zone.
Remón's reformist regime was short-lived, however. In 1955 he
was machine-gunned to death at the racetrack outside Panama City.
The first vice president, José Ramón Guizado, was impeached for the
crime and jailed, but he was never tried, and the motivation for
his alleged act remained unclear. Some investigators believed that
the impeachment of Guizado was a smokescreen to distract attention
from others implicated in the assassination, including United
States organized crime figure "Lucky" Luciano, dissident police
officers, and both Arias families. The second vice president,
Ricardo Arias (of the aristocratic Arias family), served out the
remainder of the presidential term and dismantled many of Remón's
reforms.
Remón did not live to see the culmination of the major treaty
revision he initiated. In 1953 Remón had visited Washington to
discuss basic revisions of the 1936 treaty. Among other things,
Panamanian officials wanted a larger share of the canal tolls, and
merchants continued to be unhappy with the competition from the
nonprofit commissaries in the Canal Zone. Remón also demanded that
the discriminatory wage differential in the zone, which favored
United States citizens over Panamanians, be abolished.
After lengthy negotiations a Treaty of Mutual Understanding and
Cooperation was signed on January 23, 1955. Under its provisions
commercial activities not essential to the operation of the canal
were to be cut back. The annuity was enlarged to US$1,930,000. The
principle of "one basic wage scale for all . . . employees . . . in
the Canal Zone" was accepted and implemented. Panama's request for
the replacement of the "perpetuity" clause by a ninety-nine-year
renewable lease was rejected, however, as was the proposal that its
citizens accused of violations in the zone be tried by joint United
States-Panamanian tribunals.
Panama's contribution to the 1955 treaty was its consent to the
United States occupation of the bases outside of the Canal Zone
that it had withheld a few years earlier. Approximately 8,000
hectares of the republic's territory were leased rent-free for 15
years for United States military maneuvers. The Río Hato base, a
particularly important installation in defense planning, was thus
regained for the United States Air Force. Because the revisions had
the strong support of President Ricardo Arias, the National
Assembly approved them with little hesitation.
Data as of December 1987
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