Panama Elections III

After the ouster of Manual Noriega Panama has not let one party succeed itself in power. From 1968 to the American invasion the head of the Panamanian Defense Forces was the ruler of Panama. Panama elects its national offices for five years and every five years the PRD and the Panameñista Party have alternated in power. This is the first year that someone outside of the two parties noted above is likely to win the presidency.

An issue this election is crime in the barrios and both leading candidates are presenting tough on crime platforms.

Martinelli proposes a plan called  “safe streets” which would include a permanent, heavier police presence in the streets. Martinelli proposes higher police salaries, more equipment, and improved communications. He proposes prisons for adult, repeat criminals and a rehab center/workhouse approach for youth with an eye toward prevention of criminal lifestyles.

Herrera talks of the “heavy hand of justice” with longer sentences, more police, and an emphasis on dealing with minors who commit crimes. Herrera also talks about reducing incomes of those who commit crimes with a monitoring system.

Both leading candidates propose heavier police protection at the borders to deal with drug trafficking and better communication with international agencies.

Taxes

Martinelli is proposing a “flat tax” on corporate profits. Currently the rate is 30%. The candidate wants to eliminate a number of deductions and reduce the rate to about 17%. This applies to corporations doing business in Panama. This does not have to do with Panama Bearer Share Corporations. Currently no one is talking about taxing income derived from foreign sources.

Mass Transit

Both Herrera and Martinelli want an “efficient mass transit system.” Neither seems very interested in the delayed effort of Torrijos administration to replace the old US school buses in Panama City with modern buses as the primary solution.

Shared Power

Mr. Martinelli is leading in the polls and will probably be Panama’s next president. However, he has aligned his Democratic Change Party with two others to gain support. Thus it looks like the PRD of Herrera and Torrijos will stay in control of the National Assembly.

The way Panama makes its laws, that means that the PRD controlled assembly will pass the laws that it wants. Martinelli will have the option of vetoing so he will have some bargaining power. On the other hand the way Panama writes its laws the assembly passes a law with language outlining the sense of the law and the executive writes the actual law.

Without a monopoly on power in a single party it is possible that Panama’s government will be grid locked for the next five years. On the other hand someone may emerge as the broker of compromises.

In either the next five years promise to be interesting in Panama politics.