Panama: Varela defeats the other candidates and proves polls wrong

Juan Carlos Varela’s election victory was possible by attracting disillusioned past voters of the party in power, a group which accounts for 21% of the electorate and which traditionally decides the outcome of the elections. Varela, who had to resign in September 2011 as Minister of Foreign Relations after being dismissed by President Ricardo Martinelli asked for national consensus in his first speech and stated that he was leaving behind all attacks in order to work on building a united Panama.

This victory also marks a historic milestone since Isabel Saint Malo was appointed as the first female Vice-President in the history of Panama, a traditionally independent and hardly known political figure, but very close to the various governmental administrations thanks to her 15 years of work as Manager of the United Nations Development Program in Panama.

This report analyzes the preliminary results and the working plan that the elected president has established since coming into office on July 1.

Javier Rosado, Partner and Managing Director of LLORENTE & CUENCA in Panama

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