{"id":43388,"date":"2024-05-05T09:07:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T09:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/05\/most-prominent-voice-in-panamas-election-isnt-on-the-ballot\/"},"modified":"2024-05-05T09:07:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T09:07:50","slug":"most-prominent-voice-in-panamas-election-isnt-on-the-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/05\/most-prominent-voice-in-panamas-election-isnt-on-the-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Prominent Voice in Panama\u2019s Election Isn\u2019t on the Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/05\/multimedia\/05panama-top-wqlz\/05panama-top-wqlz-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Most Prominent Voice in Panama\u2019s Election Isn\u2019t on the Ballot\" title=\"Most Prominent Voice in Panama\u2019s Election Isn\u2019t on the Ballot\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Panama is holding a presidential election on Sunday while facing an odd situation: The most prominent player in the race is not on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ricardo Martinelli, a former president of the Central American nation and known to his supporters as \u201cEl loco,\u201d or the crazy one, had been a top contender until he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/05\/world\/americas\/panama-martinelli-disqualified-president.html\" title=\"\">was disqualified because of a money laundering conviction<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But from inside the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama City where he was granted asylum, Mr. Martinelli has been <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rmartinelli\/status\/1785104521548476875\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">strenuously campaigning for Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino<\/a>, a former public security minister who was his running mate and took his place on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Mulino has led the polls in a field of eight candidates, vowing to return Panama to the economic growth it experienced under Mr. Martinelli, who was president from 2009 to 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Political chaos has characterized the election, which takes place amid widespread frustration with the current government and in the aftermath of major protests last year against a copper-mining contract that demonstrators said would damage the environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The candidates are competing for a five-year term in a single-round vote \u2014 whoever receives the highest percentage of votes wins. Voters will also be choosing representatives for the National Assembly and local governments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamaamerica.com.pa\/nacion\/jose-raul-mulino-lidera-todas-las-encuestas-1233749\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Polls<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prensa.com\/politica\/quieres-saber-el-resultado-de-la-nueva-encuesta-de-la-prensa-entra-aqui\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">show<\/a> that Mr. Mulino has a more than 10-percentage-point lead over his closest rivals. They are Mart\u00edn Torrijos, a former president and the son of a Panamanian dictator who negotiated with the United States over granting Panama control of the Panama Canal; R\u00f3mulo Roux, a former foreign minister; and Ricardo Lombana, a former diplomat. Another candidate, Jos\u00e9 Gabriel Carrizo, known as Gaby, is the sitting vice president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Panama has emerged as one of the Western Hemisphere\u2019s fastest-growing economies thanks to the expansion of the Panama Canal, free-trade agreements that have drawn investors and the use of the United States dollar as a local currency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But most candidates say the country is moving in the wrong direction, pointing to<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fitchratings.com\/research\/sovereigns\/fitch-downgrades-panama-to-bb-outlook-stable-28-03-2024#:~:text=Fitch%20Ratings%20%2D%20New%20York%20%2D%2028,of%20this%20rating%20action%20commentary.\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">downgrade of Panama\u2019s credit rating in March<\/a>. The country\u2019s economic output is expected to grow 2.5 percent this year, down from 7.5 percent growth in 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That slowdown is largely a result of the Supreme Court\u2019s declaring the copper mining contract unconstitutional and the government\u2019s subsequent closing of the mine. (The World Bank forecasts faster growth starting in 2025.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The next president will have to contend with a host of other issues, including a worsening humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of migrants cross a jungle path straddling Panama and Colombia known as the Dari\u00e9n Gap. Aid groups have reported an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/world\/americas\/migrants-sexual-assault-darien-gap.html\" title=\"\">alarming spike<\/a> in assaults in Panama, including rape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Mulino has pledged to shut down the crossing and deport migrants who break Panamanian law, saying that he \u201cwill not permit thousands of illegals to pass through our territory like nothing, without control.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That position has been criticized by other candidates, including Mr. Lombana, who has said that Panama should instead control migration flows through diplomatic agreements with other countries and should protect migrants from organized crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Water concerns are also a central election issue. A recent drought driven by less-than-normal rainfall has lowered water levels in the Panama Canal, resulting in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/01\/climate\/panama-canal-drought.html\" title=\"\">fewer ships<\/a> being allowed through. Candidates have promised to make clean water available in communities that lack it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They have also vowed to address the high deficit plaguing Panama\u2019s pension system and to create new jobs in a country that struggles with a shortage of skilled labor and a high number of informal workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis next president will have to be a masochist president because they\u2019ll really have an agenda filled with structural challenges,\u201d said Daniel Zovatto, a global fellow at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite Mr. Martinelli\u2019s disqualification, Mr. Mulino\u2019s campaign has continued to use his image in promotional materials and lean heavily on his legacy, which includes overseeing a multibillion-dollar expansion of the Panama Canal and inaugurating a subway system in Panama City, the capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Mulino has called Mr. Martinelli\u2019s corruption trial, which ended in a 10-year sentence, a \u201csetup\u201d and claims that he himself had been politically persecuted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2015, Mr. Mulino was arrested and spent several months in jail on charges of embezzlement tied to a multimillion-dollar contract he signed in 2010 for the purchase of radars when he served as a public security minister under Mr. Martinelli.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Supreme Court later ruled that there had been procedural violations and upheld a lower court\u2019s dismissal of the charges, although it left the possibility that the case could be reopened. (On Friday, the high court ruled that Mr. Mulino\u2019s candidacy was legal after a challenge claimed that he should not be in the race because he is not running alongside a vice-presidential candidate as the country\u2019s Constitution requires).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Mulino, like other candidates, has focused his campaign on job growth, and has promised to increase tourism and build a train connecting Panama City with the country\u2019s interior to create construction jobs. He has also pledged to increase agricultural production, lower the cost of medicines and provide free internet access to schools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Torrijos, as Panama\u2019s president from 2004 to 2009, put forth a national referendum in which Panamanians approved the modernization of the Panama Canal. Among other things, he has vowed to oppose mining activities in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Roux, the former foreign affairs minister, said he would create 500,000 new jobs in five years and reduce taxes for people who are paid less than $1,500 a month, while Mr. Lombana, the former diplomat, has made anticorruption the centerpiece of his campaign, pledging to recover stolen money and to significantly increase the budget of the judiciary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Voters interviewed in Panama City several days before the election expressed mixed views on the political drama that has unfolded around Mr. Mulino\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Andr\u00e9s Espinoza, 78, a retiree, said he planned to vote for Mr. Mulino because of Mr. Martinelli\u2019s legacy. He said that the former president was facing political persecution and that his opponents had sought to \u201celiminate him and invent things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Viterbo Barrias Gonz\u00e1lez, 76, a private security guard, would not disclose whom he planned to vote for, but said that Mr. Martinelli had been being treated unfairly. Mr. Martinelli\u2019s years in power, he said, were a prosperous time when \u201cthere wasn\u2019t anyone who didn\u2019t eat ham for Christmas and New Year\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Federico Herrera, 40, a civil engineer, said Mr. Mulino\u2019s participation in the presidential race represents \u201ceverything that\u2019s wrong in Panama,\u201d pointing to the visible alliance he maintains with Mr. Martinelli despite his conviction. He said he planned to vote for Mr. Lombana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe biggest problem in Panama is corruption \u2014 corruption attacks from all levels, education, health, roads,\u201d Mr. Herrera said. \u201cYou need to put the money where it\u2019s needed and not in the pocket of politicians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other voters said they had yet to decide their preferred candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Harry Brown Ara\u00faz, an investigator at the International Center for Political and Social Studies, a Panama City research institute, said voters could be confused because several candidates have belonged to the same party at one point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And, he added, the race has not revolved around any clear differences in political ideology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cA big part of the population, even though they know the individuals that are running, is saying they don\u2019t know who to vote for, and that\u2019s because the frontiers between parties have been diluted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Mary Triny Zea<!-- --> contributed reporting from Panama City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/05\/world\/americas\/panama-presidential-election-mulino.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Panama is holding a presidential election on Sunday while facing an odd situation: The most prominent player in the race is not on the ballot. Ricardo Martinelli, a former president of the Central American nation and known to his supporters as \u201cEl loco,\u201d or the crazy one, had been a top contender until he was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/05\/multimedia\/05panama-top-wqlz\/05panama-top-wqlz-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4455,50,13441,23421,10202,11776],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43388"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43390,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43388\/revisions\/43390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}