Former Panama President Mireya Moscoso Urged to Report ‘coup d’état’ against President Mulino

“The former president is making some very serious allegations… it is appropriate to urge her to file the appropriate complaint in this case,” declared the leader of the Vamos coalition, Representative Janine Prado pictured below.  These statements come because this Friday, May 23, Moscoso stated that a month ago, during a conversation with lawmakers at a party, they told him they wanted to “overthrow the president, call him to trial, and hold elections within a year.”  In response to this statement, the former president responded: “Forgive me, we had to suffer 21 years of dictatorship here, this can never happen again. Don’t ever let that happen again.” 

Janine Prado, pictured above, stated this Monday, May 26, that she sought out Moscoso’s statements and in them she speaks about a group of deputies and does not refer to a specific location.  Therefore, the complaint must indicate which deputies spoke.  Furthermore, at the public level, she should state who she was referring to in her remarks about President José Raúl Mulino and the deputies “so as not to give rise to misinterpretations, as what she intended to achieve seems to suggest.”  Prado revealed to the media on Monday that she spoke with Moscoso at the party about the general situation in the country, as the protests were just beginning.  She added that she and the former president met at a party organized by the Spanish Embassy in Panama. She emphasized that it was the first time she had met her. “It’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to exchange views with the former president,” she said.  “What I would say is that there is great public discontent, and we’ve seen it as a result of the protests,” the representative stated.

Former Panamanian party presidential candidate José Isabel Blandón, pictured above, president of the Panameñismo party, responded this Sunday to the accusations and statements made by former President Mireya Moscoso.  Last Friday Moscoso expressed her support for the government of José Raúl Mulino on RPC Radio and dismissed the accusations of authoritarianism that have emerged in recent days.  In his statement, Blandón harshly questioned the current government’s communications strategy, claiming it is a repeat of the tactics used during the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli.  “Those who handled communications in the Martinelli administration had a very simple strategy: every time they had a big problem or made a mistake, they diverted public attention by creating a scandal elsewhere. Those same people are now in the Presidency,” he said. The former presidential candidate also rejected the official narrative of an alleged coup attempt, which has circulated in media outlets and networks aligned with the executive branch.  According to Blandón, this version is nothing more than a “smokescreen” to divert attention from questions about the persecution of union leaders, such as the Suntracs case.  “The alleged coup d’état is intended to get people to turn the page on the attack to wipe out a union, and in the process, send a warning to anyone who opposes the President’s will. In this way of acting, Mulino is Martinelli and vice versa,” the leader stated.

Vamos MP Reacts

For her part, Representative-elect Janine Prado, pictured above, also spoke out about the current political climate and called for dialogue as a way to avoid further social tensions. She had been accused of “wanting to overthrow” the current Panamanian president, along with her fellow party member, Walkiria Chandler. “I am a staunch defender of democracy and, above all, of respect for the popular mandate. If I must call on President Mulino, it is to set our country on a path forward so that we can have better days as a result of dialogue and consensus,” she said. 

Another of Vamos’s deputies, Yamireliz Chong, pictured above, also reacted in defense of Prado on her social media.  “Janine has demonstrated through her actions that she is a defender of democracy and justice that she doesn’t hide when speaking her mind. She is a great representative, even if people want to say otherwise,” she emphasized.  The Colón representative also emphasized that Prado’s accusations in various media outlets are “yet another unscrupulous political attack.”

What had the Former President Said?

Moscoso expressed concern about the country’s current political situation. She stated that there are groups, intent on removing President José Raúl Mulino. The former Panamanian president recounted that, approximately a month ago, in a conversation with parliamentarians, one of them stated: “What we want is to overthrow the president, call him to trial, and hold elections in a year.”  In response to this statement, the former president responded: “Forgive me, we had to suffer 21 years of dictatorship here, this can never happen again. Don’t ever let that happen again.”  The former president noted that, amid the protests, not all demonstrators share the same intentions and warned about “other hidden agendas of those behind these people.”  These statements have generated diverse reactions in the political sphere, with some deputies denying having participated in conversations of this type and others asking Moscoso to reveal the names of those involved.  These come at a time marked by growing tension between the government and unions, as well as questions about respect for democratic freedoms and institutional processes.  The country is still waiting for clear signals from the Executive branch that point to an easing of the political and social conflict.

The revelations by former President Mireya Moscoso (1999–2004) shook the Panamanian political scene like a tornado. While leaders of the National Assembly caucuses rushed to distance themselves from any attempt to disrupt the institution against President José Raúl Mulino, figures like former magistrate Arturo Hoyos asserted that they had already warned about this risk. “I said it ten days ago,” Hoyos recalled, referring to what he considers a strategy to ignore the results of the 2024 elections and destabilize the constitutional order.  However, the leaders of the largest parties in the National Assembly, Janine Prado of the Vamos coalition and Alaín Cedeño of the Realizando Metas (RM) party, believe that Moscoso should provide more details or clarify which deputies she heard referring to a coup d’état.