After four hours of the meeting at a restaurant between the president of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, leader of the CD, and the former president Mireya Moscoso, member of the Panamenista political party, she assured she supports her political party, however she did not give comments about the candidate Juan Carlos Varela. (more)

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The presidential candidate of Democratic Change (CD), José Domingo Arias, said yesterday he attended the opening ceremony of the breakwater "Pacific Viewpoint" as he was invited by the directives of the construction company of this project, Norberto Odebrecht. (more)

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The Legal Department of the PRD filed a complaint on Thursday Electoral Prosecutor against the government candidate, José Domingo Arias, for alleged use of public works in favor of himself. (more)

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President Ricardo Martinelli said today, with the presidential candidates from the opposition political parties (Juan Carlos Navarro and Juan Carlos Varela) "we are heading towards a precipice." (more)

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The presidential candidate for the Democratic Change (CD), José Domingo Arias, said this Tuesday, May 14th, there is no better way to get to the government than by receiving advice from the current president, Ricardo Martinelli. (more)

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By Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com - This afternoon Jose Domingo Arias won the presidential primary election of the Cambio Democratico political party (as predicted), rounding out the field for the 2014 national general election, now one year away.

And I'm going to go out on a limb early here and predict an eventual victory for Arias and the CD in next year's election. There are many reason why I think (now) that Arias will most likely win.

First and foremost - money. When the election occurs the CD and Ricardo Martinelli will have had five years in power, and they have handed out billions of dollars in governmental contracts to build things - more than any other governmental administration in the history of the country. And remember corruption is rampant in Panama, so everyone has been getting rich on the taxpayer's dime. Contractors have been getting paid, and politicians have been getting kickbacks. The people who have been doing well want more of the same sort of activities, so they will push for a continuance, and donate to support the election campaign of Jose Domingo Arias. They will be able to outspend the PRD and the Panameñistas by orders of magnitude.

Secondly, the other candidates are significantly flawed. The rap on the PRD's Juan Carlos Navarro is he was the Mayor of Panama City for ten years - and "What did he do?" Great question. Arias, as a member of Martinelli's cabinet, will be able to practically claim credit for all of the stuff the CD has built in the past five years, and the list of accomplishments is impressive. Navarro will be able to point to - nothing. He has great name recognition, but unfortunately for him, it ends there. The PRD party faithful will back him of course, and he can count on about 35% of the vote, but no more. The other 65%(+) is up for grabs.

So how many votes will the Panameñista's Juan Carlos Varela pull from that stack? Not very many, because his negatives are high now, and they will just be getting higher between now and May 2014. The CD has painted him as the guy who doesn't pay his workers minimum wage. He was basically fired and ejected from the Martinelli administration in August 2011, because he was responsible for the Finmeccanica scandal. The CD has been keeping their powder dry on a whole lot of insider stuff, waiting to use it when it matters. Now you will see them use those insider details to set many of the Panameñista politicians on fire. Jose Blandon wants to be the next Mayor of Panama City. The dirt they have on him (and have been waiting to use) is impressive, and it will scuttle his political career. In a similar manner, the CD really has not pegged the Finmeccanica scandal squarely on Varela's back, but now they will. He will be painted - no, tattooed - as the single person responsible for that whole affair. He might get 10% if he's lucky, even with the support of the PP in an alliance. The Panameñistas are a sinking ship, and no matter what happens, Varela comes in a distant third, and his political career will be over.

So, in order to do the math, just remove whatever percentage you think Varela will get, and divide the remainder in half. That's the magic number required to become the next President of Panama. The PRD can usually get around 35% or so, and if Varela can manage even 15% that still leaves the CD at 50% and a victory. Even if you assign 20% to Varela, that leaves the remaining 80% to be divided between the PRD and the CD. Considering the war chest issue, and that the CD is the first strong incumbent we've seen in the post dictatorship era, it still adds up to a CD victory.

I mean, I'm trying to find a way for the CD to lose, and it's just not there.

Varela is the guy who didn't pay his workers minimum wage. Navarro is the guy who had his chance, and didn't do anything. And by comparison, the CD has done more to advance Panama than any other administration. They have spent more money, built more stuff, and improved the lives of millions of poor Panamanians. I think Panamanian voters are relatively sophisticated. Jose Domingo Arias won't win in 2014 because of this charm, charisma, magnetic personality, wit, intelligence, verbosity, poise, or shoe size. He will win because he's the CD's candidate and he will have the backing and support of their entire machine, aided by their alliance with the growing MOLIRENA party, which has been bolstered by defectors from the PRD and Panameñistas.

So it's official. Tonight, on the night Jose Domingo Arias became the official presidential candidate for the Cambio Democratico political party, I am formally and officially announcing that - according to my political analysis of the situation on the ground at this moment - Arias and the CD will win the 2014 election with about 54% (or so) of the vote. Now we have a whole year to watch these three guys jockeying for position until the final decision is made by the Panamanian people. Election years are always more interesting than a "normal" year, and this one should be a doozie...

Copyright 2013 Panama-Guide.com.

In the company of the First Lady of the Republic, Marta Linares de Martinelli, the President Ricardo Martinelli arrived at the Belisario Porras school to exercise his right to vote. (more)

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The president, Ricardo Martinelli, said he is confident his party will be reelected in 2014. (more)

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Jose Ramos, the General Secretary of the Popular Party (PP), on Sunday, May 5, accused the presidential candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Juan Carlos Navarro, to be the one responsible for the unauthorized distribution of a letter containing a list of their demands in order to form a political alliance. (more)

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The opposition politicians are saying the new work schedule for public employees - from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm - put into effect by President Martinelli in order to save electrical energy, will benefit the ruling government Cambio Democratico political party during the week they will be holding their party's primary elections. (more)

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The presidential candidate from the opposition party, Juan Carlos Varela, began the conversation with the 'Molirena Vive' movement, in order to form a national alliance to ensure victory in the 2014 elections.

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A letter leaked to the media, in which the Popular Party (PP) stated specific requirements to the PRD in order to form an alliance, has opened a Pandora box pointing the PRD presidential candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro, as the only person who received the document.

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The conflict between the government of Ricardo Martinelli and the Central American Parliament, instead of reaching an agreement seems to get worse by the day.

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According to the survey issued by “Panamá Opina” from Ipsos, the most preferred candidates running for mayor of the City of Panama are confined between the opposition, the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and the current Government, Democratic Change (CD).

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Roberto "Bobby" Velasquez, candidate running for mayor of the city from the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) toured the 24 de Diciembre area, the third most populated division of the municipality of Panama, where he promised to build a peripheral market and municipal kindergartens.

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The presidential candidate for the Panamenista Political Party, Juan Carlos Varela, cheered the decision of the National Directorate of the Popular Party to suspend their conversations with the PRD and start formal negotiations with the Panamenista Party to form a coalition, facing the elections of 2014.

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Today, around 800 people from an evangelical group from the church “Tabernáculo de la Fe” got enrolled in the Democratic Revolutionary Party, according to a statement from the political group.

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The PRD presidential candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro, proposed on Saturday, April 27th a radical change for the Metro Bus system, which is the source of many complaints in the city of Panama and San Miguelito after the "Red Devils" were removed from the transportation system.

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In more than 100 sites, the Panameñista political party made a mass inscription during Sunday, prior to the closing of the electoral roll which will be on May 5.

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The president, Ricardo Martinelli, enacted Law 33 of April 25, 2013, establishing the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information.

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The decision of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) to reject an application for reconsideration against the ejection of the National Registry of Tourism from the company Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A., operator of the Coronado Golf & Beach Club Hotel, located in Chame, was considered as "a new presidential outburst" by I. Roberto Eisenmann, legal representative of the company.

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The candidate running for mayor of Panama, José Luis Fabrega, waited eight days to express his views regarding the complaints of alleged payments to district representatives in exchange of support for his campaign.

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A group of delegates from the National Assembly are modifying paragraph 3 of Article 116 of the Criminal Procedure Code, through which they will reduce the sentence against crimes of embezzlement and crimes against public administration.

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Yesterday, the DGI presented a peremptory challenge against the judge of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jerónimo Mejía, to declare him as disabled in the case of guarantee requested by the company Desarrollo Golf Coronado S.A. against the process of alleged tax evasion of more than $ 3 million.

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Delegates from the National Assembly added an extra amendment in the Bill 523, which establishes the mechanism for the extradition of foreigners.

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The Transportation Commission of the National Assembly will tour the bus stops in order to inspect them at 24 de Diciembre, San Miguelito and 5 de Mayo, as well as the lot of the company Mi Bus, which serves as the starting point and parking lots of the Metro Bus.

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The presidents from Panama, Ricardo Martinelli; Peru, Ollanta Humala, and Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, will open today in Lima the eighth World Economic Forum in Latin America, from April 23rd until April 25th, dedicated to the strengthening economic growth of societies.

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The Supreme Court of Justice will try tomorrow, Wednesday, the last of the five actions filed by Desarrollo Golf Coronado S.A., owned by Ithiel Roberto Eisenmann, to try to stop the audit scope interposed by the DGI for more than 3 million dollars.

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The Chavista candidate, Nicolás Maduro, won Sunday's presidential election in Venezuela by a few votes against the opposing leader Henrique Capriles, reported the National Electoral Council (CNE). (more)

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Aside from the political issue, the results of the elections to be held in Venezuela on Sunday, could represent closer trade relations with other countries, including Panama. (Telemetro)