A New Panama Political Organization – Led by Martín Torrijos
Former President Martín Torrijos announced this week that he is working on forming a new political organization. The new group is still in the consultation process, and its name has not yet been finalized, but it could be a key player in future electoral contests.
The former president and presidential candidate Martín Torrijos explained that the group is in the process of consulting with citizens to define its policies, before completing the corresponding procedures with the Electoral Tribunal. “It’s a political organization. We’ll see if it’s a movement, if it’s a party that we’re going to include in compliance with the rules of the Electoral Tribunal,” Torrijos told La Estrella de Panamá. “Without a doubt, it will have a lot of Omar Torrijos’s ideology, but also a lot of nationalist heritage; it will have a center-left outlook. More or less on that basis, we’ll have many consultations to ensure that, under those concepts and parameters, we have policies that aim to truly interpret the needs of Panamanians.
The movement is based on that,” he explained. The former president spoke for the first time about this new group during a speech commemorating the 44th anniversary of the death of his father, Omar Torrijos. There, he defined the organization as a “broad, non-sectarian platform, aware that the country must be united.” Along these lines, Torrijos explained to La Decana that he has observed the need to create new political instruments in the face of what he considers the debacle of political parties. “I resigned from the PRD because the PRD that exists has nothing to do with the ideals, principles, and ethics of Omar Torrijos. But there’s not just a problem within the PRD; there’s a problem within all political parties, which, ultimately, have come to defend the interests of certain groups and not truly those of society,” he concluded.
The differentiating element for Torrijos must come from the citizen consultation, a process that has already begun. Torrijos ran as a presidential candidate during the 2024 elections, nominated by the Popular Party (PP). In that election, Torrijos finished in third place with 16% of the vote, behind Ricardo Lombana of the Movimiento Otro Camino (MOCA) party with 24.5% of the vote, and the eventual winner, José Raúl Mulino of the Realizando Metas party with 34.2%. He was president of the Republic from 2004 to 2009, governing as part of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). However, in January 2024, he resigned from the party. His decision to run for the PP in 2024 came at a high political cost for the PRD, whose candidate, José Gabriel Carrizo, only obtained 5.8% of the vote.
Relationship with the United States
One of the critical points the former president has questioned is the signing of agreements between Panama and the United States, which cover security issues related to the Panama Canal, as well as agreements to find a mechanism for U.S. vessels to pass through the interoceanic waterway at a “cost-neutral” rate. “First, I wouldn’t have signed them. Second, I maintain that these agreements are detrimental to sovereignty and national interests and violate the Neutrality Treaty,” Torrijos stated.
“Our role is not only to defend our sovereignty, but to explain to the United States that the only defense of the Canal is its neutrality. That benefits Panama, the United States, and all Canal users,” he concluded. After the signing of the agreements, one of the most vocal critics was Torrijos, who even signed a document along with hundreds of Panamanians repudiating it. In June of this year, the United States announced that it was revoking the visas of Torrijos and fellow former candidate and critic of the agreements, Ricardo Lombana.
Martín Torrijos – Former President of the Republic
Without a doubt, he will have a lot of Omar Torrijos’s ideology, but also a lot of nationalist heritage; he will have a center-left approach.
