Mayer Mizrachi is Reorganizing Staff in the Mayor’s Office

After 24 hours of silence, the mayor of the district of Panama has spoken out. He announced that he has decided to revoke the appointment of his deputy mayor, Roberto Ruiz Díaz, as general secretary of the capital city.  Mizrachi announced his decision in his own style: via social media. “Taking into consideration the words of the Vice Mayor and having made his position available, I have decided to annul his appointment as Secretary General of the Mayor’s Office of Panama,” he wrote on X.

Roberto Ruiz Díaz, the deputy mayor of the capital district, was not the only one who resigned as general secretary of that entity.  All the directors of the Municipality of Panama made their positions available, at the request of the Mayor, Mayer Mizrachi.  Among them are: Paola Quintero in Human Resources, Alexandra López in Legal and Justice, Irina Tapia is in Legal Advice, Luis Abrego is Markets, Salvador Aviad Cattan is Environment, and  Ricardo Araúz is involved in Decentralization.

Mayer Mizrachi just got back from his trip to Washington, United States, that he visited in mid-October.  According to people close to the mayor’s administration, Mizrachi is reportedly considering a complete “reorganization” of the mayor’s office.  Mizrachi just accepted Ruiz Díaz’s resignation.  Ruiz Díaz, who confirmed his intention to leave, has clarified that he has no “personal differences” with the mayor.  This past week, the two have been working directly on the budget for 2025.  But there arose a disagreement between the two: suddenly a debt of $14 million showed up that, until then, the general secretary was completely unaware of.

The Municipality of Panama has been under pressure on several issues.  One of them was the 2024 Christmas parade, an event that would cost almost $1.5 million and that had been awarded directly to the companies Grupo Pompa and Festieventos. The latter had been contracted for these same tasks by the previous mayor José Luis Fábrega.  Ruiz was never happy with the signing. In the end, Mizrachi decided to cancel it. Why?  There are two reasons. First, Festieventos included a clause that was not convenient for the municipality. Second, President José Raúl Mulino asked public institutions not to participate in the Christmas parade, since there is no budget.  Ruiz Díaz issued a statement on Thursday night in which he said he had decided to step aside because he believes that “the work is not being done well” and prefers to support and cooperate from the vice-mayoralty.  An attempt was made to obtain more information from the deputy mayor, but he did not respond to requests. Neither did Mayor Mizrachi.