Bars to close early?

PANAMA. A proposed law that would force bars and restaurants to close at 2 a. m. is being opposed by The Minister of Tourism, Salomón Shamah.

The so called “carrot” measure measure has been proposed by the Ministry of Government and Justice as a means to reduce delinquency in the country. The term “carrot” is a play on the Spanish word “sana” meaning “healthy” or “wholesome” and “horia” is a bit like “hora”, meaning “hours”. It refers to bars closing at an earlier or healthier hour so that people can´t drink or party any more.

Bar, restaurant and hotel owners and others involved in the entertainment sector are opposed to the proposed law because they say it will reduce their business.

Maria Luis Gonzalez, representing bar and discotheque owners, said that her members are prepared to accept that premises close from Monday to Thursday at 3 am and stay open until 5 a.m. from Friday to Sunday. She said their businesses have suffered this past year due to the economic climate. If the government decides to impose an early closing law, it should apply to all businesses, including supermarkets. She opposed plans to try the law for three months as once in place it would be hard to revoke.

The president of the Panamanian Association of Hotels, Jorge Loaiza, also said that his members businesses rely on “healthy” nightlife.

Instead, the entertainment sector is proposing a series of reforms, which, they say, will help reduce delinquency without affecting their profits. These include closing off Uruguay Street to traffic and making it a pedestrian precinct at weekends, allowing bar owners to refuse admission to their establishments, testing workers for drugs and alcohol, checking police records of all employees, installing surveillance cameras that can be monitored by the police, and clearly identifying all premises with signboards outside.

Salomon Shamah made clear that he stands behind the entertainment sector and urged them to continue fighting and to present a united opposition to the proposed law.

“This is an attack on tourism. To accept this law would be to give in and in the end it wouldn’t solve the delinquency problem, it would just mean the loss of a lot of jobs,” he said. “If this law gets passed it will destroy everything we have achieved. They want an easy solution to the security problem but it’s not that easy. Passing this law would send a negative message to the rest of the world saying don’t come to Panama because we have a security problem. And in the end they will be in just as much of a hurry to revoke this law as they are now to impose it.”