Controversy over the Appointment of a Former Cobre Panama Lawyer as Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade

Conflict of interest?  The debate is heated. On social media and in citizen participation spaces, attention is focused on President José Raúl Mulino’s latest appointment: Astrid Ábrego González has been named the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade.

Astrid Ábrego González pictured above, Director of Public Procurement says that “the Vice Ministry of Foreign Trade does not regulate, supervise, or touch mining matters. It doesn’t even see them.” She asserts that “there is no conflict of interest.