Sunday, May 3, 2009

Good news from Panama's election

Well, here's hoping so.

The general sense in the international media, to cite one example, looks very promising; that Ricardo Martinelli of the Democratic Change (CD) party has a solid lead over Balbina Herrera of the incumbent Revolutionary Democratic (PRD) party, his closest rival, going into today's Presidential and Legislative election.

If victory favors the CD, then Panama will likely accelerate its swing to the Conservative side, which matters a lot when one remembers how many friends have been bought by Venezuela's H. Chavez in his pursuit of regional hegemony. A strong, independent Panama is a great neighbor for Colombia, and a very fine guardian of the Panama Canal.

For those interested, *here* is Angus Reid Global Monitor's election tracker for this contest.

1 comment:

L.Douglas Garrett said...

It is, in fact, good news.

The AP is calling Martinelli's win "a landslide". 61% of the vote in a three-way contest, with 53% of votes reported.

Herrera has conceded; Martinelli's coalition has likely won (at least) 37 of the 71 seats in the National Assembly.

Martinelli has made concluding the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.A. a major policy goal, and like the FTA between the U.S.A and Colombia, this is something that *should* be done.