Mulino on Business and Investment in Panama
Just in case you missed it. Panama elected the former security minister José Raúl Mulino as our next president in Panama, a former security minister, who just emerged from a chaotic campaign. Mulino, who won 34.3% of the vote, pledges to welcome business and investment without forgetting ‘those who are hungry’. Amid record turnout, Mulino won 34.3% of the vote, followed by lawyer Ricardo Lombana with 24.8% and former president Martín Torrijos at 16%. José Raúl Mulino who was Ricardo Martinelli’s vice presidential candidate, only became the presidential candidate in February when he stepped in to replace Ricardo, who took refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City after local courts ratified his sentence for money laundering and took away his ability to run for President. Mulino himself was at risk of being disqualified by the Supreme Court until just two days before the vote, because he assumed the candidacy without going through party primaries.
In his victory speech, Mulino said his government would welcome business and investment without forgetting “those in need of drinking water across the country”. “In spite of everything they did to me during the campaign, I won’t take a drop of vengeance against anyone,” he added, before declaring the end of “political persecution” in the country. The election took place in the shadow of Martinelli, whose popularity despite his conviction for money laundering reflects both the political outsider status he has cultivated and the fact that Panama saw formidable economic growth during his presidency from 2009 to 2014. The fact that Panama is facing an economic slowdown made the memory of Martinelli’s presidency all the more powerful. Mulino will have to build a majority through coalitions as he attempts to address the economy, and historic levels of US-bound migration through the Daríen Gap. Martinelli celebrated the victory with a selfie posted on Instagram from the Nicaraguan embassy: “The face of a happy man,” he wrote.
