PANAMA CITY, Panama -Martin Torrijos, the son of a former dictator, took office as Panama's president Wednesday promising jobs, better relations with Cuba and a referendum on a proposed $8 billion expansion of the Panama Canal.
Torrijos said Panamanians should decide on the proposal to widen the canal for a new generation of bigger ships because of its high cost for this poor nation, where 40 percent of the people live in poverty.
He also promised an investor-friendly government that is concerned for the poor. "Doing business in Panama has become a headache," he said.
Torrijos had tough words for his predecessor, Mireya Moscoso, calling her term "five years of wasted opportunities." "We receive a country full of youth without hopes," he added.
A Texas A&M graduate with a degree in economics, Torrijos promised an austere, honest government and said public finances were "in a deplorable state whose magnitude we have not yet begun to discover."
The inauguration was attended by officials from around the world, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Taiwanese President Chen Shui Bian.
Torrijos' late father, Gen. Omar Torrijos, signed a deal with then-President Carter that led to the handover of the Panama Canal from U.S. to Panamanian authority and many Panamanians remember him fondly for that achievement.
"He showed us that it was possible to achieve inßdependence with dignity and bravery," the new president said of his father.
Like his father, Torrijos faces key negotiations with the United States, this time talks on a free-trade agreement started by Moscoso. He said he favored free trade but promised to consult with groups worried they might lose out in a treaty.
While Panama has seen its economy grow 7 percent over the last 18 months thanks to a Swiss-like banking system, a large free-trade zone and business related to the canal, government income has not kept pace. It has trouble meeting its payroll and Panama's generous social security and pension system is headed for bankruptcy.
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