The recent decisions by Panama’s supreme court (CSJ) to shelve three criminal complaints filed against the president of the 71-member unicameral national legislature, Rubén De León of the opposition Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) party, and other national legislators, is serving as the latest source of outrage among local civil-society groups. It has cast further doubt on claims by President Juan Carlos Varela that tackling government corruption remains a priority for his administration. The CSJ’s decisions come as the country’s institutions are already under scrutiny following revelations that emerged at the end of last year that Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht paid over US$59m in bribes to local officials between 2010-2014 during the Ricardo Martinelli administration (2009-2014) [WR-17-04].End of preview - This article contains approximately 651 words.
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