Early Life and Career
Martín Torrijos is the son of military ruler Omar Torrijos, who was Panama's social reformer and military strongman from 1968 until his death in a 1981 plane crash. The younger Torrijos is an illegitimate child primarily raised by his mother, but his father publicly acknowledged him when he became a teenager. He is a graduate of St. John's Northwestern Military Academy located in Delafield, Wisconsin, US, and studied political science and economics at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. During his time in the US, he also worked in Chicago, managing a McDonald's restaurant.
During the presidency of Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994–1999), Torrijos served as deputy minister for the interior and justice. His most significant act as deputy minister was to sign into law the complete privatization of Panama's water utilities. When the new law proved unpopular, the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) effected a reversion to the previous system. During his term in office the rate of armed robberies and assault increased. There were several reported cases where SUNTRACS, a workers union, was angered, causing several riots which involved rock flinging.
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