Jiménez, Enrique A. (1888–1970)

Enrique A. Jiménez (b. 1888; d. 1970), president of Panama (June 1945–October 1948). Nicknamed "el submarino" for his apparent ability to fire on political opponents and to surface at the most opportune moment, Jiménez was supposed to be an interim president. He was supported by the Partido Renovador and Don Pancho Arias Paredes, who expected to succeed Jiménez but met an untimely death before elections were scheduled. With his support gone, Jiménez faced stiff opposition from Arnulfo Arias Madrid, who unsuccessfully attempted a coup d'état in December 1945, and was imprisoned for most of 1946. Although Jiménez negotiated an agreement with the United States regarding U.S. bases in Panama, anti-Yankee demonstrations led to its rejection by the National Assembly. Jiménez responded to the growing domestic agitation caused by students and labor with the iron fist of the National Police, which was under the leadership of José Antonio Rémon Cantera. Jiménez's political fortunes ended when his chosen successor, Domingo Díaz Arosemena, died of a heart attack (1946) and Remón installed Arias as president.

See alsoArias Madrid, Arnulfo .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Leslie Bethell, ed., The Cambridge History of Latin America, vol. 7 (1990), pp. 624-626.

Walter La Feber, The Panama Canal (1979), 2d ed., pp. 100-101.

Additional Bibliography

Harding, Robert C. Military Foundations of Panamanian Politics. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2001.

Pizzurno Gelós, Patricia, and Celestino Andrés Araúz. Estudios sobre el Panamá republicano: 1903–1989. Panama: Manfer, 1996.

                                     Michael A. Polushin