According to the Panamanian media La Prensa, the Government Commission of the National Assembly decided to file on Tuesday the bill that proposed to grant amnesty To former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, both investigated for corruption scandals such as Odebrecht, Blue Apple and New Business.
With five votes against and only two in favor, the proposal was rejected since its first article, which led to its total dismissal without evaluating the rest of the text. Luis Eduardo Camacho, president of the commission and member of the party making goals (RM), He led the session in an environment marked by tension and expectation. After knowing the result, Camacho explained that, on the recommendation of the legal team, the partial vote automatically invalidated the entire project.
Deputy Camacho, who supported and signed the initiative, announced that he will submit a minority report in the plenary of the assemblyrecognizing that I already anticipated the result. The votes against deputies from the Bancadas Vamos, Movement Another Mocha and Change Way Democratic, the latter with a substitute voting against, despite the fact that the holder had supported the project days before.
The session, which concluded around 1:30 pm, evidenced internal divisions and made it clear that the proposal did not have sufficient support. Only Camacho and Ariel Vallarino, both of the RM party and close to former president Martinelli, voted in favor of the amnesty.
