Arnulfo Arias
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Arnulfo Arias
Arnulfo Arias (1901-1988), thrice elected president of Panama and thrice removed before the end of his term, was an outspoken and popular political figure in his country from the 1930s through the mid-1980s.
Arnulfo Arias was born in Penonomé, Coclé Province, Colombia, August 15, 1901, more than two years before the American-backed revolt made Panama an independent country in November 1903. He went to high school in Binghamton, New York, and then attended the University of Chicago and Harvard University which awarded him a medical degree. After interning at Boston City Hospital, he returned to Panama in 1925.
The Arias family is one of several Panamanian middle-class families prominent in isthmian politics. In the 1930s Arnulfo entered into politics. He criticized the old Panamanian political establishment for being too agreeable to the United States, especially on matters related to the Panama Canal. In 1936, when Arnulfo was representing Panama in various diplomatic posts in Europe, his brother, Harmodio, president of Panama since 1932, negotiated a new canal treaty with the United States. This treaty did not replace the hated 1903 canal arrangement, but at least Panama obtained greater benefits in the Canal Zone. In 1940, after the new treaty was approved, Arnulfo became president of Panama.
Arnulfo took power just as the American military began pressing for greater territorial concessions from Panama to build defense installations to protect the Panama Canal. As a price for these concessions, Arnulfo demanded greater economic concessions from the United States. He championed the Spanish language and excited a generation of panameños with his nationalistic rhetoric. Irritated by this outburst of criticism, the U.S. government resisted Arias' demands. In Washington, American officials accused him of being pro-German, but in truth Arias (like Omar Torrijos several decades later) was really expressing the longstanding resistance by Panamanians against American domination of their country. After Arias was tossed out by a palace revolt in October 1941 the United States quickly obtained the defense sites agreement it wanted.
In 1948 Arias ran again, was elected, but had to wait 18 months before taking power. But once more he so frightened the old families and the national guard with his prolabor policies and anti-American rhetoric that the military kicked him out.
In 1964 Arias ran for a third time, in the months after a bloody confrontation between Americans and Panamanians in January 1964. But once again he was deprived of power by an apparent electoral fraud that gave the executive power in Panama to Marco Robles. Four years later Arnulfo, now aged noticeable but still a vigorous campaigner, ran again. He won a disproportionate victory, but less than two weeks after his inaugural on October 1, 1968, the national guard, under Omar Torrijos, kicked him out.
Arias went to Miami and waited until 1977 to return to Panama. Torrijos was still in power but the Panamanian economy was in trouble. Arias came back to Panama City to a tumultuous welcome from 100,000 enthusiastic followers. Though an old man, he had lost none of his hold on the Panamanian people. "It's the fourth coming," said one of his supporters. True to form, Arias criticized the economic situation, Torrijos and the "cult of personality," and especially the new canal treaties Torrijos signed with the Jimmy Carter administration in Washington.
Torrijos held on to power until his death in a helicopter crash in 1981, but Arias showed that he still had a powerful appeal to the ordinary Panamanians. Age had not mellowed him. He still criticized his followers. "The Panamanian people are like oxen," he once said, "you have to keep prodding them with a stick to keep them moving." On another occasion he said, "Panama is like a village, what it needs is a mayor, not a president."
In 1984, at 82 and nearly blind, Arias ran yet another time for Panamanian president and narrowly lost to Nicolas Ardito Barleta. Many panameños still remembered that Arias made Spanish the official language of Panama and gave women the vote in his first term in 1940-1941. Yet he remained a vigorous anti-communist. It probably did not matter that he lost, some of his supporters said, because the national guard would probably have kicked him out had he won. Arias died in 1988.
Further Reading
For more on Arnulfo Arias consult John and Mavis Biesanz, The People of Panama (1955); Walter LeFeber, The Panama Canal (1978); and David Farnsworth and James W. McKenney, U.S.-Panama Relations 1903-1978 (1983).
Arias, Arnulfo (ärnūl'fō är'yäs), 1901-88, president of Panama (1940-41, 1949-51, Oct., 1968). A Harvard-trained physician, he led the coup that deposed President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena in 1931. He subsequently served in cabinet and diplomatic posts. In 1940, he was elected president by an unprecedented majority. He jailed dissidents, disenfranchised the non-Spanish-speaking population, and expressed an allegiance with the Axis powers of World War II. He was ousted in Oct., 1941, in a coup supported by the United States. Reelected president in 1949, he was deposed in May, 1951, after organizing his own secret police and suspending the constitution. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1964, then won election in 1968 as the standard-bearer of a five-party coalition. Taking office in October, he maneuvered to gain control of the national assembly and the supreme court and to restructure the command of the national guard. After only 11 days as president, he was ousted by national guard officers. In 1984, he again ran for the presidency but was defeated.
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Arnulfo Arias
| Arnulfo Arias Madrid | |
|---|---|
| 21st President of Panama | |
| In office 1 October 1940 – 9 October 1941 |
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| Preceded by | Augusto Samuel Boyd |
| Succeeded by | Ernesto Jaén Guardia |
| 31st President of Panama | |
| In office 24 November 1949 – 9 May 1951 |
|
| Preceded by | Roberto F. Chiari |
| Succeeded by | Alcibíades Arosemena |
| 43rd President of Panama | |
| In office 1 October 1968 – 11 October 1968 |
|
| Preceded by | Marco Aurelio Robles Méndez |
| Succeeded by | José María Pinilla Fábrega |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 August 1901 Penonomé, Coclé Province, Panama |
| Died | 10 August 1988 (aged 86) Miami, Florida, United States |
| Political party | Panameñista Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ana Matilde Linares (1927-1955) Mireya Moscoso (1964-1988) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid (August 15, 1901 – August 10, 1988) was a Panamanian politician, doctor, writer and president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968. He is known as the president who never ended his terms of office, because of the military coups against him.
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Origins
Arias was born in Penonomé, main town of Coclé, a province in western Panama. He was the son of Antonio Arias and Carmen Madrid, and the brother of Harmodio Arias, who served as President of Panama from 1932-1936. He wrote his first letters with the French Christian Brothers in his native city. He studied medicine and surgery at Harvard University. Later, he specialized in psychiatry, obstetrics and endocrinology.
Political life
In 1925, Arias returned to Panama and assumed leadership of the nationalistic organization Patriotic Communal Action. This organization tapped into a building current of discontent in Panama against the considerable influence the United States exerted on the country. It formed the nucleus of the present-day Panameñista Party. Panama had been, for all intents and purposes, a U.S. protectorate since gaining independence in 1903.
In 1931, Arias led a coup that deposed Liberal President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena. The next year, he helped his brother Harmodio become president. He subsequently served in cabinet and diplomatic posts. In 1940, he was elected president by an unprecedented majority as the candidate of the National Revolutionary Party (PNR, which became the Panameñista Party in the mid-1940s. Soon after taking office, Arias enacted a new constitution[1] that granted women the right to vote for the first time. However, he also jailed dissidents, disenfranchised the non-Spanish-speaking population, and expressed sympathy with the Axis powers of World War II. He was ousted in October 1941, in a coup supported by the United States.
He ran for president again in 1948 as the candidate of a coalition of his party and the Authentic Revolutionary Party and lost. However, a year later the National Assembly declared that he had actually won. He suspended the constitution and set up a secret police force. Corruption was widespread, and he was overthrown again in 1951. He ran unsuccessfully in 1964, then won the 1968 elections as the standard-bearer of a five-party coalition. Taking office in October, he maneuvered to gain control of the legislature and the Supreme Court and to restructure the command of the National Guard. After only 11 days as president, he was ousted for the third time and undertook a midnight escape to the Canal Zone. Arias had made the mistake of trying to send military leader Omar Torrijos to a foreign position which Torrijos felt he would lose money from uncollected bribes. The Presidential Palace was shot up by Torrijos men. Arias, having seen the Guards gone and after receiving a call from the Costa Rican President warning him that the border had been closed, left the Palace along with Hildebrando Nicosia his Chief of Staff and chose to divert to the Panama Canal Zone and U.S. refuge. The getaway car, driven by Nicosia's son-in-law, Michael Merry the Panama Manager of an international communications company, ran the blockaded border to safety. Arias and Nicosia later left the Canal Zone, exiled to Miami, {Florida}. His 93 year old mother however was sleeping upstairs, but was unharmed and undisturbed having taken her hearing aids out to sleep.[2]
After the U.S. pressured military leader Omar Torrijos to liberalize his regime, Arias returned to Panama in 1978. While he was in exile, a small dissident group in his Panameñista Party joined the pro-Torrijos coalition, and took over the party's registration. The majority of the party remained with Arias, renaming itself the Authentic Panameñista Party.
In 1984, the 83-year old Arias ran once more for president. When exit polls showed Arias with a substantial lead, the government, now controlled by Manuel Noriega, halted the count. It brazenly manipulated the results and declared that its candidate, Nicolás Ardito Barletta, had won by only 1,713 votes. Independent observers estimated that Arias would have won in a landslide had the election been conducted in a fair manner. As a result, Barletta was nicknamed fraudito (little fraud), in reference to his second name Ardito. Arias fled once again to Florida.
Death
In the morning of August 10, 1988, while watching television, Arnulfo died just 5 days before his 87th birthday in his house located in Coral Gables, Miami due to natural causes. His wife, Mireya Moscoso was with him at the time of his death. His body was transferred to Panama City, where he was ultimately buried in Jardin de Paz cementery, located in Parque Lefevre. His supporters used his funeral as a protest against Noriega. On January 7, 2012, in order to fulfill one of his last wishes, he was re-buried in the mausoleum of the Arias Madrid family museum, in Penonomé, Coclé province, Panama.
In Panama, there are monuments, schools, and a township street bearing his name.
Arias' party regained power after the U.S. invasion of Panama a year later. Its presidential candidate, Guillermo Endara, had won elections earlier that year, only to have them annulled by Noriega. It was renamed the Arnulfista Party in 1990, and in 2005 regained its old name, the Panameñista Party.
Personal life
Arias was married to Ana Matilde Linares in 1927. She died in 1955. Arias married Mireya Moscoso in 1964. He remained married until his death. Moscoso later became the first woman President of Panama following the 1999 elections.
References
- ^ Araúz, Celestino Andrés. "Arnulfo Arias Madrid" (in Spanish). 'Historia de Panamá'. Editora Panama America. http://www.critica.com.pa/archivo/historia/f10-37.html. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ Just Cause the real story by Alfanso Carlito Diaz
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Augusto Samuel Boyd |
President of Panama 1940–1941 |
Succeeded by Ricardo de la Guardia |
| Preceded by Roberto Chiari |
President of Panama 1949–1951 |
Succeeded by Alcibíades Arosemena |
| Preceded by Marco Aurelio Robles |
President of Panama October 1, 1968–October 11, 1968 |
Succeeded by José María Pinilla |
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Mentioned in
Omar Torrijos Herrera
(Panamanian military leader & statesman)
Panama
(country, Central America)
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