Herasto Marcial Reyes Barahona (1952–2005) was a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian journalist, writer and political activist. Reyes was born in

Vallerriquito Vallerriquito is a corregimiento in Las Tablas District, Los Santos Province, Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the south ...

Las Tablas, Los Santos Las Tablas () is the capital of the Panamanian province of Los Santos Province, Los Santos, with a population of 9,255 as of 2010. It is located a few kilometres inland from the Gulf of Panama on the Azuero Peninsula. Las Tablas is a recognised na ...

on October 10, 1952. He studied journalism at the

University of Panama The University of Panama ( es, Universidad de Panamá) was founded on October 7, 1935. Initially, it had 175 students learning education, commerce, natural sciences, pharmacy, pre-engineering or law. , it had 74,059 students distributed in 228 b ...

. In 1975 he took part in founding the

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

Revolutionary Socialist League (LSR), which later became the Socialist Workers Party (PST). He contributed extensively to, and often edited, party organs like ''Revolución Socialista'', ''La Verdad Socialista'' and ''Voz Independiente''. From 1980 to 1987 he was the director of the ''Centro de Comunicación Popular''. In 1987 he began working at ''La Prensa'', where he would become Investigative Editor. In 1992 he was awarded the

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Press Award for his work for child rights. The

president of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final separation from Colombia in 1903. Free State of the Isthmus (1840–1841) Republic of Panama (19 ...

Ernesto Pérez Balladares Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla (born June 29, 1946), nicknamed ''El Toro'' ("The Bull"), is a Panamanian politician who was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999. Educated in the United States, Pérez Balladares worked as ...

, filed a libel suit against Reyes in August 1998, after Reyes had accused the administration of covering up a government embezzlement scandal. What followed was a lengthy legal process, which was highlighted by international human rights organizations.

Works

Works written by Reyes include: *''Los medios de comunicación masiva en Panamá'' (1973), *''Historia de San Miguelito'' (1981) *''Cuentos de la vida'' (INAC, Panamá, 1984) *''Apuntes panameños de municipalidad'' (1986) *''Cuentos en la noche del mar'' (1988). *''Monólogo de la muerte'' (play)

References

1952 births 2005 deaths People from Las Tablas District Socialist Workers Party (Panama) politicians Children's rights activists Investigative journalists Marxist journalists Marxist writers Panamanian activists Panamanian journalists Male journalists 20th-century journalists {{Panama-bio-stub