The Vamos Coalition in Panama Loses Paulette Thomas as she Submits her ‘Irrevocable Resignation’.
In a statement, the congresswoman announced her resignation ‘irrevocable’ and explained that her decision was the result of ‘a thorough analysis’ and not an impulse.
Deputy Paulette Thomas resigned this Thursday August 27 from the Vamos coalition, the political movement with which she arrived at the National Assembly in July 2024. In a statement released on her social media, she announced her resignation “irrevocably” and explained that her decision was the result of “a deep analysis” and not an impulse.
She cited Article 9 of the coalition’s Code of Ethics, which provides for a 15-day period for the preliminary investigation of her case. This period which, she claims, has already passed without the board of directors or the Ethics Committee having called her. There has been no contact or a formal summons to hear her version of what happened in the legislative committee that led to her suspension. “This shows a lack of interest in the matter, perhaps due to ignorance, but it is a total lack of respect towards me,” she wrote.
The Origin of the Case.
Thomas’s departure comes almost a month after the Vamos bloc suspended her, after her alternate, Edilberto Guerrero, voted in favor of the election of the pro-government deputy Lilia Guerra for the presidency of the Education, Culture and Sports Commission of the Assembly. That result eliminated the possibility for Congressman Jorge Bloise, of Vamos, to be re-elected to that committee. Consequently, Juan Diego Vásquez pictured below, a leader of the coalition, publicly called for Thomas’s suspension. He described what happened in the Education Committee as “unacceptable.”
Juan Diego Vásquez, Former Independent Congressional Representative and Founder of Vamos.
That same day, Vamos announced the suspension of the congresswoman and referred the case to its Ethics Committee to investigate and determine the corresponding sanctions in accordance with its statutes. In her statement, Thomas insists that the facts are “known and proven, even with witnesses” and rejects that her integrity is being questioned “based on an impulse, preferences or biases.” She added that at home she was taught that “lying and not keeping your word is practically a capital sin.”
Vásquez Reacts.
The congresswoman Paulette Thomas pictured above, closed her statement with the phrase: “Time will take care of putting everyone in their place.”
Vásquez spoke out on his social media. “I deeply regret Representative Paulette Thomas’s decision to flee from Vamos’s ethical process. She will not be held accountable by the team that brought her to the Assembly, but in 2029 she will not escape the accountability that the people will demand from her. Whoever betrays is NEVER a victim. May God bless her.
Below is an earlier story posted on NewsroomPanama.com
