Ricardo Arias Calderón facts for kids

Ricardo Arias Calderón (born May 4, 1933 – died February 13, 2017) was an important Panamanian politician. He served as the First Vice President of Panama from 1989 to 1992.

Arias Calderón was a Catholic who studied at famous universities like Yale and the Sorbonne. He returned to Panama in the 1960s to help bring about political changes. He became the leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Panama and was a strong opponent of the military government led by Manuel Noriega.

In 1984, he ran for Second Vice President with former president Arnulfo Arias. However, they lost to a candidate who supported Noriega. After a disputed election in 1989 and the US invasion of Panama later that year, Arias Calderón became the First Vice President under President Guillermo Endara. He later resigned in 1992 because he felt the government was not doing enough for the people of Panama. He remained active in politics, supporting the Panama Canal expansion project.

Early Life and Education

Ricardo Arias Calderón's family had a history of political involvement. His mother's family came from Nicaragua because of political problems there. One of his great-uncles even ran for president in Panama. This family background sparked his interest in politics from a young age.

His father, who was an engineer, passed away when Ricardo was only two years old. He was mainly raised by his mother, aunt, and grandmother. His mother later married a Panamanian ambassador to the United States.

Arias Calderón studied at the Culver Military Academy in Indiana, USA. He then went on to major in English literature at Yale University. He also studied philosophy at Paris-Sorbonne University in France. He was a Roman Catholic and was greatly influenced by the French philosopher Jacques Maritain. Because of his serious and sometimes distant manner, people sometimes called him "Arias Cardinal Calderón."

Starting His Political Career

In the early 1960s, Arias Calderón returned to Panama. He wanted to work for political reform and soon joined the small Christian Democratic Party of Panama. In 1972, he and his family left Panama for a while. He worked as a dean and then as a vice president at Florida International University in Miami, USA.

However, in 1980, he decided to return to Panamanian politics. He turned down a job offer at the university to focus on his country.

Opposing the Military Government

During the time when Manuel Noriega was the military leader of Panama, Arias Calderón became a key opposition leader. He was the president of the Christian Democratic Party of Panama. This party was part of a group called the Civic Democratic Opposition Alliance (ADOC).

In the 1984 Panamanian general election, he ran for Second Vice President. He was on the same ticket as Arnulfo Arias, who had been president three times before (they were not related). They lost the election by a small margin. The opposition group claimed that the election results were not fair.

In February 1988, Arias Calderón and his wife were forced to leave Panama. They spent a month living in Miami. He returned to Panama in March and openly called for Noriega to be removed from power.

In Panama's May 1989 elections, Arias Calderón ran for First Vice President. Guillermo Endara was the candidate for president, and Guillermo Ford was the candidate for Second Vice President. However, Noriega's government stopped the election before all the votes were counted. A few days later, Endara, Arias, and Ford were attacked by Noriega's supporters. Security forces watched but did not help them. In October of that year, Arias was briefly arrested for telling people not to pay taxes to the government.

Becoming Vice President

After Noriega's government fell during the US invasion of Panama in December 1989, Arias Calderón officially became the First Vice President of Panama. He was sworn into office on a US military base.

Arias Calderón was given the important job of changing Panama's police forces. He wanted to make sure they were controlled by civilians, not the military. He made a controversial decision to hire former members of Noriega's military forces. He said he trusted them and that it was "time to look to the future."

This decision caused disagreements among the government's supporters. In early 1991, the ruling coalition started to break apart. Endara, Arias, and Ford began to criticize each other publicly. On April 8, President Endara removed Arias from the cabinet. Endara accused Arias's party of not supporting him during a vote.

Arias Calderón resigned from his position as Vice President on December 17, 1992. He stated that President Endara's government "does not listen to the people." Endara responded that Arias's resignation was just a way for him to start his political campaign early for the 1994 elections.

Later Activities

After leaving office, Arias Calderón continued to be involved in Panamanian politics. He was against the continued presence of US forces in Panama before the Panama Canal was handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999.

In 2001, Arias Calderón published a book called Democracy without an Army: The Panamanian Experience. In his book, he argued that Panama's security forces should always be kept separate from politics. That same year, he formed an alliance with the Democratic Revolutionary Party, which was Noriega's former party.

Arias Calderón was against the decision to send Noriega from France back to Panama in 2011. He warned that Noriega could cause political problems in Panama, similar to what happened in Venezuela with Hugo Chávez.

Personal Life

Ricardo Arias Calderón married Teresita, who was born in Cuba, in 1964. They had four children together. In the 1960s, Teresita was one of the first political spouses to actively attend rallies and campaign for her husband. Since President Endara was a widower at the time, she also served as Panama's First Lady until Endara remarried in 1990.

See also

In Spanish: Ricardo Arias Calderón para niños