Panama President Mulino: ‘If They Don’t Let Me Run, I’ll Set This Country on Fire From Every Corner’

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Friday that during the political campaign he warned the Electoral Tribunal (TE) of his country about “setting the country ablaze” if they did not allow him to run for office.  “I told the three magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal at the time: if you conspire to prevent me from running, I’ll set this country ablaze. Believe me, because here the right of the Panamanian people to elect will be respected,” Mulino recounted at a press conference following a meeting in San José with the president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves.  According to Mulino, who made a quick visit to Costa Rica this Friday along with several ministers, in his country “they stretched the rope to the limit” and only allowed him to compete a few days before the elections. 

“They knew I was going to win, but there was a lot of bitterness and hatred behind the election. They almost swept me aside at the expense of democracy, at the expense of the popular will.”  That happened in Panama with the support of magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, media sectors, important and powerful businessmen, and questionable votes cast by the Supreme Court of Justice, the Panamanian president stated.  According to Mulino, the current reality of Panama “is different” and he stated that he came to the Government “without a mortgage” and that he has no “partners”, “godfathers” or “economic groups” behind him. 

Mulino’s statements come at a time when Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves is experiencing strong tensions with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which has requested Congress to lift his immunity in order to proceed with a sanctioning process for apparent political belligerence, which could even lead to his removal from office.  Mulino’s candidacy was hanging by a thread until a few days before the May 2024 elections, when the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) declared his presidential candidacy constitutional as a last-minute replacement for former President Ricardo Martinelli.  In March of that year, the Electoral Tribunal disqualified Martinelli from participating in the elections after a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for money laundering, which led him to seek asylum in the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama while awaiting safe passage, and he is now in asylum in Colombia.