Mireya Moscoso
Encyclopedia
Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias (born July 1, 1946) is a Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

nian political figure. She was the President of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 from 1999 to 2004, representing the Arnulfista Party
Panameñista Party
- Founding and early history :The party is the oldest in Panama. It was founded in 1932 by Arnulfo Arias Madrid, a prominent medical , as the National Revolutionary Party. Its membership largely came from Patriotic Communal Action, a nationalist organization that opposed the large amount of...

. Moscoso was Panama's first female president.

Moscoso has an interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...

 diploma from Miami-Dade Community College in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and she is the widow of former President Arnulfo Arias
Arnulfo Arias
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968.- Origins :...

.

President Mireya Moscoso is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders
Council of Women World Leaders
The Council of Women World Leaders is a network of current and former women prime ministers and presidents established in 1996 by Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland and first woman in the world to be democratically elected president, and Laura Liswood, Secretary General...

, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

Presidency

In the May 2, 1999 general elections
Panamanian election, 1999
The Panama held a general election on 2 May 1999, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly.- Presidential election results :- Legislative election :...

, she became the country's first female President, taking office on September 1, 1999. She ran on a campaign to reduce poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

, improve education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, and slow down the country's privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...

 process. She had run in the previous election (1994), when she was defeated by Ernesto Pérez Balladares
Ernesto Pérez Balladares
Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999. Nicknamed "El Toro" , Ernesto Pérez Balladares is married to Dora Boyd Preciado, with 3 daughters.-Studies :...

 of the PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party
Democratic Revolutionary Party
The Democratic Revolutionary Party is a Panamanian political party. It was founded in 1979 by the General Omar Torrijos, and is generally described as a party of the centre-left of the political spectrum.-History and creation:...

). Her term in office began with huge popularity and hope for change.

Panama Canal

She oversaw the U.S. handover
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...

 of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 in January 2000. Having fired every major officeholder in the Panama Canal Authority appointed by the previous administration, she is credited with keeping the Authority autonomous and running the canal in an efficient manner.

Corruption scandals

Throughout her five-year government, numerous corruption scandals were aired on the media. None of her close allies, allegedly involved, were investigated.

Watches and earrings

Moscoso raised eyebrows soon after her election in 1999, when she gave all 72 members of the Legislative Assembly expensive Cartier watches and earrings worth an estimated $146,000 just before the vote on the government-proposed budget package. She claimed they were Christmas gifts and that she paid for them from her own money, not from public funds. No investigation was made.

End of term

Her popularity at the end of her government was the lowest for a Panamanian president. At the end of her term in office she held inauguration ceremonies for several unfinished public works. The most famous example is the new Centennial Bridge
Centennial Bridge
- Canada :* Centennial Bridge, in Chatham, New Brunswick- United States of America :* Rock Island Centennial Bridge, which connects Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa...

 over the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, inaugurated with big parties on August 15, 2004 (15 days before ending her term) by the government despite the fact that it would take until September 2, 2005 (a year later) to open the bridge for traffic, since only then the new highways leading to the bridge were finished.

Days before Moscoso ended her term and left Panama to retire in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, she pardoned four Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n exiles– including the violent anti-Castro activist Luis Posada– who had been convicted of plotting to assassinate Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

, and implicated in the bombing of the Cubana Flight 455
Cubana Flight 455
Cubana Flight 455 was a Cuban flight from Barbados to Jamaica that was brought down by a terrorist attack on October 6, 1976. All 78 people on board the Douglas DC-8 aircraft were killed in what was then the deadliest terrorist airline attack in the Western hemisphere...

 in 1976, which killed all 73 people on board. Posada had admitted to The New York Times in 1998 http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/12/world/bomber-s-tale-cuban-exile-details-horrendous-matter-bombing-campaign.html?scp=2&sq=a%20bomber%27s%20tale&st=csehttp://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/13/world/bomber-s-tale-decades-intrigue-life-shadows-trying-bring-down-castro.html?scp=1&sq=a%20bomber%27s%20tale&st=cse&pagewanted=all, having masterminded a bomb attack in a Cuban hotel, killing Italian Tourist Fabio di Celmo.

The pardon caused Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 to break off diplomatic relations with Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. The relations were reestablished under her successor, President Martín Torrijos
Martín Torrijos
Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004...

.

Successor

Constitutionally barred from re-election, she was succeeded on September 1, 2004 by Martín Torrijos
Martín Torrijos
Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004...

, son of Omar Torrijos
Omar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...

 (the man who ousted her husband in 1968), who was elected in May 2004 with 47% of the votes. The Arnulfista Party (Moscoso's Party) reached only 16%, in distant third place. The blame for this loss was placed mainly on Moscoso. During the campaign, she openly attended rallies organized by her hand-picked candidate José Miguel Alemán
José Miguel Alemán
José Miguel Alemán Healy is a Panamanian politician.He spent a significant part of his childhood living in Washington, DC while his father, Roberto Alemán Zubieta, was serving as one of the leading negotiators for the Robles-Johnson Treaties and later on as Ambassador of Panama to the United...

, overshadowing him.

Corruption investigations

With the new government, numerous mechanisms to investigate corruption cases were instituted. It is alleged that Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

's donations to the Panamanian government were put under private foundations that were controlled by Moscoso's Cabinet and close friends.

Moscoso is now facing numerous corruption investigations in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. She blames Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

for initiating the corruption allegations. However, Moscoso's close aides point to Panamanian political rivals as the source. http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=116942&src=dcn (link broken)
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