Vanishing Act

Where has the President gone?

For a country on the brink of democracy, the announcement came as a troubling surprise. Without any forewarning, a terse official statement last week announced that Panamanian Vice President Jorge Illueca, 65, had been sworn in as President. In a televised address an hour later, Illueca delivered a speech intended to assure the citizens he would make no changes in government policy. Yet why had President Ricardo de la Espriella, 48, resigned? Mysteriously, official newspapers later made no mention of the resignation.

Such turnabouts have seemed appropriate to Panama lately. Since former Strongman General Omar Torrijos Herrera and his 13-year one-man rule were brought to an abrupt end by a plane crash in 1981, the country seems to have been playing musical executive chairs. In less than three years, Panama has had three presidents, all in office with the blessings of the military. But that could change with the presidential election scheduled for May 6, the first such election after 16 years of military-backed governments. The Reagan Administration does not view the resignation with any great alarm, encouraged that elections are still scheduled. "We have no reason to doubt that this will be done," said State Department Spokesman John Hughes, "and we are gratified."

De la Espriella, a respected former banker, tried to continue the course toward elections and democratic rule set in motion by Torrijos. But in fact, the pending election may have been what caused his departure. According to close friends, the former President was being pressured by the National Defense Forces to reorganize his Cabinet to include supporters of an official candidate. He may have stepped down rather than see the election become unfairly slanted.

If indeed De la Espriella was driven out by the National Defense Forces, it could be an indication of how relunctant the military is to relinquish the considerable influence it now enjoys over Panamanian politics. Nonetheless, Illueca has declared a "sacred commitment" to hold elections as planned, and to maintain the present course of Panama's policy, especially its support of the Contadora process, which seeks to resolve the Central American crisis. The U.S., with a military force of approximately 10,000 stationed in Panama, and responsibility for operation of the strategically vulnerable canal, can only hope that Panama itself does not become part of the crisis.