Panama mayoralty race gets fresh face

A new standard bearer without political baggage has added her name to the already crowded list of those who aspire to become Mayor of Panama.

 Former television presenter Ana Pérez has announced she will run for the post as an independent. Her attempt could be an uphill battle against entrenched policed figureheads, on the other hand that could work to her advantage as the big guns from the PRD, Panamenista’s and CD, with some too familiar faces,  battle it out with their well-funded and greased campaigns. They include Sergio Galvez, the controversial president of the National Assembly who recently propped up his seat as a deputy with a $675,000 hand out of hams to his voters in El Chorillo .

Pérez said she will run as an independent and will begin collecting signatures as soon as her paperwork is approved by the  Electoral Tribunal. 
She said she will organize cultural and artistic events to collect the signatures. She also said she  has the support of independent candidates running for other offices, including former Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez who could attract a lot of voters after her well publicized battles with the ruling party and the judiciary.
Perez, remembered by many for her ability to humorously prick the ego balloons of public figures, will likely  add a cultural twist to her vision of Panama after the 2014 election.
Her announcement came on Monday, December 14, the same day that ousted mayor Bosco Vallarino claimed that he was pressured  to resign
Legislator Fernando Carrillo recalled that the resignation of Vallarino "was a confusing time for everyone."
Carrillo said that he does not believe claimsthat  legislator José Muñoz pressured Vallarino. Public opinion a the time seemed slanted to the belief that it was President Martinelli who pulled the switch, afer a loud confrontation at the Presidential Palace.  Bosco checked into hospital the next day. Former Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimiriu was another  who headed for a hospital bed the day after resigning. Legislator Marcos González said that Vallarino had medical problems at the time he resigned. He also said the mayor has not brought up these allegations until more than a year after leaving office.
"The situation he left as the mayor leaves much to be said of his conduct at the internal level," said González.
Panameñista Legislator Alcibiades Vásquez said that the allegations by Vallarino are between the former mayor and those legislators he has accused of improper conduct.
And so the political fisticuffs continue. Win or lose Pérez could bring a breath of fresh air to Panama’s murky  political scene and even achieve  a tortoise and the hare miracle.