{"id":10190,"date":"2014-05-07T11:40:09","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T16:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=10190"},"modified":"2014-05-08T09:22:37","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T14:22:37","slug":"varela-wins-panama%e2%80%99s-presidency-after-ruling-party-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/varela-wins-panama%e2%80%99s-presidency-after-ruling-party-feud\/","title":{"rendered":"Varela Wins Panama\u2019s Presidency After Ruling Party Feud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/juan-carlos-varela.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10191\" title=\"juan-carlos-varela\" src=\"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/juan-carlos-varela.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"648\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/juan-carlos-varela.jpg 614w, https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/juan-carlos-varela-300x209.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After what was touted as the tightest race for a presidency in recent history, Juan Carlos Varela walked away with a surprising lead of 39 % of the votes.\u00a0 Here is a good report of events by Eric Sabo at Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article_body\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/topics.bloomberg.com\/panama\/\">Panama<\/a> Vice President Juan Carlos Varela upended pre-election polls showing him lagging behind to win the country\u2019s presidential election, after publicly feuding with the ruling party over allegations of corruption.<\/p>\n<p>Varela, 50, was declared the winner by the national electoral tribunal on Sunday, which said his lead in the race was <a title=\"Open Web Site\" rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/tribunal-electoral.gob.pa\">insurmountable<\/a>. With 93 percent of the precincts counted, Varela had 39 percent. Former Housing Minister Jose Domingo Arias, who led in pre-election polls and had the backing of President Ricardo Martinelli, was second with 32 percent and conceded the race. Ex-Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro was third with 28 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis government is going to fight against inequality and is not going to tolerate corruption,\u201d Varela told supporters at a hotel in Panama City after being declared the winner. \u201cBetter days will come to Panama, with a government that is human, decent and visionary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Varela will succeed Martinelli, who helped oversee the Panama Canal\u2019s $5.25 billion expansion, opened Central America\u2019s first subway and pushed unemployment to a record low <a title=\"Open Web Site\" rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.contraloria.gob.pa\/inec\/archivos\/P5571Comentarios%20agosto%202013.pdf\">4.1 percent<\/a>, on July 1. With voters saying <a class=\"web_ticker\" title=\"Get Quote\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/quote\/PNCPYOY:IND\">inflation<\/a> was their top concern, Varela advocated price controls on basic foods and said he would be more open to talks with unions and indigenous groups, who have battled with Martinelli over mining and hydroelectric projects.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Martinelli Machine\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cVarela closed the campaign with a lot of momentum,\u201d said Risa Grais-Targow, a Latin America analyst at Eurasia Group in New York. \u201cHe was able to beat the Martinelli machine due to voter perception that an Arias victory would be a de facto Martinelli re-election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martinelli congratulated Varela for his \u201coverwhelming victory\u201d on his <a title=\"Open Web Site\" rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rmartinelli\">Twitter<\/a> account. His Democratic Change party still won the most seats in the 71-member National Assembly, with 30 lawmakers compared with 12 aligned with Varela, according to preliminary estimates by the electoral tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>A father of three, Varela received a bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and served on the board of his family\u2019s company, Grupo Varela, whose investments include a brand of Panamanian rum.<\/p>\n<h2>$36 Billion Economy<\/h2>\n<p>A political alliance between Varela\u2019s Panamenista Party and Martinelli began breaking down soon after the 2009 election. After publicly feuding over their political alliance in 2011, Varela repeatedly rebuked the president for allegedly consolidating state resources for political gain. That year he called on Martinelli to suspend a $250 million contract to buy radar equipment and helicopters from <a href=\"http:\/\/topics.bloomberg.com\/italy\/\">Italy<\/a>, pending an investigation into allegations that officials took bribes. Martinelli rejected the accusations and said Varela, who he had already removed as foreign minister, should resign the vice presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Fueled by government spending, Panama\u2019s $36 billion economy has been among the world\u2019s fastest-growing, with gross domestic product <a title=\"Open Web Site\" rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG\/countries\/PA?display=graph\">surging<\/a> an average of more than 8 percent a year under Martinelli, who wasn\u2019t eligible for re-election. Growth will slow to about 6 percent by 2015, prompting the need for \u201cimproved spending control,\u201d Fitch Ratings said in a report today. Public spending accounted for a record 10 percent of GDP last year, Fitch said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think tighter spending controls will be needed to meet targets set under the current fiscal responsibility law,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n<h2>Corruption Index<\/h2>\n<p>The International Republican Institute, a Washington-based policy advocacy group, said in a report today that the campaign was \u201cgenerally competitive\u201d and met international standards. It called for greater transparency during the campaigns so that \u201cparties disclose the origin of contributions and prevent the use of public funding for partisan propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Panama ranked 102nd out of 177 nations in last year\u2019s Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by Transparency International. In 2012, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/davos\/\">World Economic Forum<\/a> rated the country\u2019s judiciary 132nd out of 144 countries in terms of political independence.<\/p>\n<p>Panama\u2019s dollar bonds have returned 7.5 percent this year, compared with 5.5 percent for <a href=\"http:\/\/topics.bloomberg.com\/emerging-markets\/\">emerging markets<\/a>, according to JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co.\u2019s EMBIG index. Standard &amp; Poor\u2019s rates the country BBB, the second-lowest investment grade level, putting Panama in the same category as Colombia and Bahrain.<\/p>\n<p>Construction projects throughout Panama have remained idle since April 23, when workers walked off the job in an effort to win a 35 percent salary increase. The strike threatens to further delay the canal\u2019s expansion, designed to accommodate larger ships and help reduce transport costs for commodities such as liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach day of the strike brings new delays that harm the reputation and trust in the country as reliable center for transport,\u201d the Panama Canal Authority said in an April 25 statement. The project, which was beset by a dispute with the consortium undertaking the construction earlier this year, is due to be finished late next year.<\/p>\n<p>To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Sabo in Panama City at  <a title=\"Send E-mail\" href=\"mailto:esabo1@bloomberg.net\">esabo1@bloomberg.net<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at  <a title=\"Send E-mail\" href=\"mailto:wfaries@bloomberg.net\">wfaries@bloomberg.net<\/a>; Andre Soliani at  <a title=\"Send E-mail\" href=\"mailto:asoliani@bloomberg.net\">asoliani@bloomberg.net<\/a> Randall Woods<\/p>\n<h2>From\u00a0 VP Joe Biden<\/h2>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML \/> <o:AllowPNG \/> <\/o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <\/xml><![endif]--><\/p>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal<\/w:View> <w:Zoom>0<\/w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves \/> <w:TrackFormatting \/> <w:PunctuationKerning \/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas \/> 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\tmso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; \tmso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} --> <!--[endif] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: &amp;amp;amp; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;amp;amp;\">Elections in Panama<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: &amp;amp;amp; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;amp;amp;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: &amp;amp;amp; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;amp;amp;\">We congratulate the Panamanian people on the high turnout and electoral officials on a peaceful and orderly election. International and domestic election observers, including those from the Organization of American States, the U.S. Embassy, the Carter Center, and the International Republican Institute reported that the polling process was transparent and fair.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: &amp;amp;amp; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;amp;amp;\">We look forward to working with President-elect Juan Carlos Varela and his entire administration to advance our bilateral relationship. Our longstanding cooperation and commitment to Panama and the Panamanian people will endure with the next administration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;\">\n<h1>Readout of Vice President Biden&#8217;s Call with Panamanian President-elect Juan Carlos Varela<\/h1>\n<p>Today, Vice President Biden called President-elect of Panama Juan Carlos  Varela to congratulate him on his victory. \u00a0The Vice President  reaffirmed the historic ties between the United States and Panama, and  reiterated our commitment to work as partners in advancing shared goals,  including promoting economic prosperity, security, and greater regional  integration in Central America.\u00a0 The Vice President congratulated the  Panamanian people for demonstrating their commitment to democratic  values through a free, fair, and transparent election process.\u00a0 The Vice  President also underscored the importance of developing a robust agenda  for the upcoming 2015 Summit of the Americas to be held in Panama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After what was touted as the tightest race for a presidency in recent history, Juan Carlos Varela walked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-articles-panama-perpsective"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Varela Wins Panama\u2019s Presidency After Ruling Party Feud  - Blog and Newsletter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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