Guillermo Endara - Presidency

Presidency

The US armed forces overthrew Noriega's government during the US invasion of Panama in December 1989. Endara had by this time taken refuge in the Panama Canal Zone, which was under US control. The US gave Endara the choice of being installed as president or having the US institute an occupation government. Though Endara had opposed US military action during his campaign, he accepted the presidency, stating later that, "morally, patriotically, civically I had no other choice". He was certified the winner of the election and inaugurated on a US military base on December 20, 1989. Arias was inaugurated as first vice president, and Ford as second vice president. Unlike previous rulers Omar Torrijos and Noriega, Endara appointed only whites to ministerial positions, excluding Panama's large mestizo population and other ethnicities.

Seen as a restorer of democracy, Endara was later noted for having defended freedom of speech and democratic institutions. He also oversaw a reform of the Panamanian Defense Forces, purging Noriega loyalists, asserting the primacy of the civilian government, and returning the group from military to a national police force. In October 1994, the National Assembly passed an amendment abolishing the military at Endara's urging, becoming the second Latin American country to do so.

In early 1991, the ADOC coalition began to unravel as Endara, Arias, and Ford publicly criticized one another. On April 8, accusing Arias's Christian Democratic Party of not rallying to his support during an impeachment vote, Endara dismissed Arias from the cabinet. Arias resigned from the vice presidency on December 17, 1992, stating at a news conference that Endara's government "does not listen to the people, nor does it have the courage to make changes". Endara responded that Arias's resignation was "demagoguery" and "merely starting his 1994 political campaign ahead of time".

Endara's term in office saw marked economic recovery from the nation's years of military rule. During his presidency, Panama had an average annual economic growth of 8%. However, unemployment also rose near 19%. In February 1990, the overweight Endara began a hunger strike in the Metropolitan Cathedral to call attention to the nation's poverty and to pressure US President George H. W. Bush to dispense previously pledged American aid. In the course of the strike, he lost more than thirty of his two hundred and sixty pounds.

By May 1992, Endara's public approval rating had fallen from its initial 70% to only 10%. The Associated Press later described Endara's administration as being "tarnished by scandal". Among other financial scandals, Endara's wife Ana Mae Diaz was accused of reselling food that had been donated by Italy on the streets of Panama City. In 1992, Diaz won $125,000 in the national lottery and indicated that she intended to keep the money rather than donating it; the incident was also cited as an example of the Endara's administration's lack of concern for Panama's poor.