Who is this new President of Panama?

His name is Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez, head of the Panameñista party which was aligned with the Popular Party (PP). He never once led in a poll. His party was the third largest in Panama, and is considered centre-right. Despite a very dirty campaign by his opponents that denigrated into name-calling (Martinelli called him a donkey) he won a decisive victory capturing 39% of the vote (over 656,000 votes). The next closest - Jose Arias - the CD candidate achieved only 31% (just over 531,000 votes).

However - despite winning the Presidency, they do not have a majority government.  The Martinelli-led Cambio Democratica (CD) party captured 27 delegates to the National Assembly, while the new President's party won 12 seats. Even with the other party alliances - the new President will have to build bridges and get consensus to pass any legislation. Martinelli has warned that he intends to be formidable opposition.

Who is Juan Carlos Varela?
Only having met the man briefly when putting together the Panama Film Festival three years ago, I cannot speak from personal experience. Instead I have compiled this background from a number of sources - La Prensa, La Estrella, TVN and speeches made by the candidate himself. I stress that these are my own conclusions and opinions only.

 Varela is the current Vice President of Panama. He and his Panameñista party formed an alliance with Martinelli and the CD party which they quickly regretted - the alliance quickly fell part once they won the election. Varela was ousted out of government by Ricardo Martinelli. The feud has been bitter and public.

Varela is a staunch Catholic, having been educated at a Jesuit College and openly works with the Catholic Church's Opus Dei in Panama. He opposes abortion, gay marriages and legalising marijuana. His wife of 22 years, Lorraine Castillo Varela disagrees with many of his positions and is a powerhouse both on a microphone and in person.
According to newspaper accounts Varela is a thoughtful, determined man. He graduated from Georgia Tech with an industrial engineering degree in 1985. He is 50 years old, and his wife of 22 years whom he dated since she was a 17 years old Carnival Queen (they dated for five years before getting married) have three sons: Gian Carlo, Adrian, and Sefan. His parents are both deceased.
They were both involved in the Civil Crusade street protests and demonstrations against General Noriega. He loves reading, exercising and musicals such as Les Miz.

He campaigned on a few platforms: controlling the prices on 22 food essential food items, eliminating corruption, improving drinking water across the country, reducing slum housing and creating a "real democracy - not influenced by special interest groups tied to wealth and power"

His running mate - now Vice President Elect is Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado, is 45 years old. She is a specialist on public policy, and up until this election had never been aligned to any political party. She is considered an independent.
They rejected an alliance bid from the PRD - possibly after being burned by Martinelli debacle. They gambled, and won.
In his victory speech he proclaimed "We will show transparency and will not tolerate corruption in any establishment" . This is similar to what Ricardo Martinelli promised in his victory speech 5 years ago.

His family are distillery owners - producers of Rob Abuelo and Secca Herrana liquors among others.
He is known as populist leader, who regularly is seen talking to cab drivers, cleaners, cooks and school children.
Martinelli sued Varela for $30 million for calling him corrupt. That case is ongoing.

In the final tally, the race was closest in Panama Province where 37 % voted for Varela and 36% voted for Arias. In Coclé Province, the results were much more dramatic - 47% for Varela and 28% for Arias.
It is interesting to note that Ana Matilde Gómez - (the former Attorney General ousted by Martinelli) easily won her seat to the National Assembly.

The Mayor of Panama City has changed as well - the CD-favoured Roxanne Mendez has been replaced by Blandon.

Congratulation to President Elect Varela and Vice President Elect Isabel Saint Malo. The Panamanian people have repeated their long tradition of not voting in the incumbent, and electing change instead.

What does this mean for expats?

During any transition there is confusion. In Panama - where so many of the jobs in government and civil service are political appointments - there will be massive changes as the new government transitions into power. 
Staunch Martinelistas will be replaced with friends/family/associates loyal to the new regime.  The new government take over July 1st. Expect even longer delays and interruptions until the dust settles. My wife and I went through the last election, and found it took about six months for things to settle in. 

The minority government position will likely mean that it will be harder to get new legislation passed. Martinelli has already promised to make life challenging for Varela.
For expats, the key Ministries to watch will be:
- National Security - Jose Raul Mulino- Minster of National Security has been a controversial figure - and as the boss of the Police - vital to our safety and security. President Elect Varela did not state that crime or safety was his major concern.

- The Attorney General - head of prosecutions and the Public Ministry/ DIJ - we have all seem what effect this can have on our safety ad security - fr this issue is made a priority we can expect a significant improvement in crime and safety in our communities.

- Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) Salo Shamah - a close personal friend and former campaign manager of Martinelli (who had his visa to travel to Canada and USA revoked for ties to money laundering according to Wikileaks) - will likely go - and his $50 Million budget could get slashed.

- Minister of Immigration is critical - for our citizenship applications, Pensionado benefits, cedulas, etc.

- Finance: taxes- bank interest, foreign sourced income, sales taxes and market value property assessments, as well as banking laws are all important to our daily lives - the growth that Panama has experienced in the past five years has been based on massive public spending (Metro, 3rd Lane of the Canal, Cinta Costera 3, new bridges, etc) and public policy - expect some major changes in both these areas.

There is great hope for the future. While trepidation surrounds change - so do opportunities - and we all have a role to play in helping make Panama the greatest place to live in the world.