Panama heads to polls to elect new president amid international trade, migration concerns

BOGOTA, Colombia

Panama will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president who will have to take the reins of a country plagued by corruption, extreme droughts in the Panama Canal and a worsening migration crisis in the Darien jungle.

Three million from more than 4 million Panamanians are called to elect a president from eight possible candidates who will govern for the next five years.

The Supreme Court rejected a move Friday to disqualify the candidate of leading presidential contender, Jose Raul Mulino, a right-wing former public security minister who stepped in as a candidate in February, replacing former President Ricardo Martinelli.

The latest polls suggest Mulino, who had been Martinelli's vice-presidential candidate and took over the ticket for the former president´s party, leads with 30% against his two closest rivals, former President Martín Torrijos and the lawyer Ricardo Lombana. ​​​​​​​

Martinelli, who was once the favorite to win the presidential race, was disqualified from running by the electoral tribunal because he was sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for money laundering.

The former president has been living in the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama City since seeking asylum there in February.

President Laurentino Cortizo, of the majority Democratic Revolutionary Party, leaves office with low popularity due to an economic deceleration. His replacement will receive an economy whose growth will fall from 7.3% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2024, according to the IMF.

Cortizo´s unpopularity is also related to the Supreme Court’s decision to declare as unconstitutional, legislation that granted a 20-year concession to a huge copper mine. The decision came after a wave of protests that lasted weeks.

Panama Canal drought

The next president will have to deal with a critical economic engine for the country: the Panama Canal.

Panama experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023, leading the canal authority to restrict the size and number of ships crossing the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The canal, through which 6% of the world maritime trade passes, had to reduce ship transit due to the drought caused by climate change and the El Niño phenomenon. At times, more than 100 ships lined up and waited up to 21 days to use the canal.

The backlog has caused big losses for the country and shipping companies that cross through the strait.

Darien Gap

Mulino has promised to close the Darien Gap -- a 575,000-hectare (1.4-million acre) wall of vegetation that has become a corridor for migrants from South America trying to reach the US through Central America and Mexico.

“We’re going to close the Darién and we’re going to repatriate all these people,” Mulino has said.

But experts say restricting the flow would push people to take other dangerous paths. More than half a million people, including 113,000 children, crossed the Darien Gap in 2023 and Panamanian authorities estimate that the number of people crossing is likely to be higher in 2024.