Best of Panama

Before the Spanish arrived, the isthmus of Panama fulfilled a function as a bridge of passage between populated zones to the north and south of the continents. Europeans first encountered Panama in 1501 by Rodrigo de Bastidas. The Spanish encountered strong native resistance since the beginning of the colonization as they advocated for Panama to be a free commerce point. Even between 1821 and 1903, when Panama was part of Colombia, there was great discontent due to their centralized government which neglected the needs and projections of Panama. In February 27, 1855, Panama earned some independence from Colombia by being declared a Federal State. Eventually, this desire of independence found strength with the France and later with United States financial support to build the Panama Canal. France failed in their attempt to build the canal between 1880 and 1889, which opened the possibilities for the United States to intervene in this ambitious project. In 1903, Panama became independent from Colombia thanks to the financial interest behind the construction of the canal, which was successfully built with US investment and used for the first time in January 7, 1914. Subsequently, thanks to the protests of Panamanian students in January 9, 1964 that the fight to return the sovereignty and autonomy of the canal to Panama began. The U.S. and Panama underwent a diplomatic process to review their initial agreement which gave perpetual control of the canal to the US. In September 7, 1977, both nations signed a new agreement that allowed the US to maintain control and management of the Panama Canal until December 31, 1999. From 1990 to 1996, Gilberto Guardia Fanrega was the first Panamanian citizen to manage the canal. Another important historic fact about Panama is the military dictatorship of 21 years that the nation underwent. Manuel Antonio Noriega was the dictator until the US invaded Panama in December 20, 1989 to reestablish democracy. Noriega’s nexus with the drug trafficking were well known, during his regime human rights violations, fear, and economic crisis were the day-by-day reality of Panama.