Panameñista Party
Encyclopedia
The Panameñista Party is a Panama
nian political party
.
influence in Panama which had led a coup in 1930. The party s' first "Supreme Leader" and President was Ezequiel Fernandez Jaen, a key member of the "Patriotic Communal Action". Ezequiel Fernández Jaén became second Vice-President to Panamá s' President Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, who died in power. Ezequiel Fernández Jaén, became President of Panamá for only 3 days, after Juan Demostenes Arosemena died and while the first Vice-President Augusto Samuel Boyd arrived from Washington, where he was the Panamanian Ambassador.
In 1936, Harmodio's younger brother, Arnulfo Arias Madrid, became a national leader and President of Panamá in 1940. In the early 1930s, he had begun promoting a nationalist doctrine called "Panameñismo" (Panamanianism), and this became the basis for the party. It was renamed the Panameñista Party in the mid-1940s. His logo is "Por un Panamá Mejor"
to support the military regime of Omar Torrijos
. In return, the Torrijos regime allowed the dissidents to take over the party's registration. The main body, however, remained with Arias and renamed itself the Authentic Panameñista Party. Known by its Spanish acronym, "PPA," it was one of the leading opponents to Manuel Noriega
.
. For the 1989 elections, the party was the main component of an anti-Noriega coalition, with the PPA's Guillermo Endara
as the coalition's presidential candidate. Pamaneñista election tallies showed a win for Endara by a 3-to-1 margin over Noriega's candidate, Carlos Duque, but those elections were nullified by Noriega, who claimed election fraud. Noriega was overthrown in the United States invasion of Panama
a few months later. The night before the invasion, in the Canal Zone
, Guillermo Endara
, was sworn in by a judge.
Endara is noted for staging a public hunger strike to call attention to poverty and homelessness left in the wake of the Noriega years and destruction caused by the U.S. invasion. He visited then U.S. President George Bush, pressing for emergency relief aid and cooperative measures to curtail the Panamanian narcotics trade. He is credited with restoring confidence in the banking industry, reducing unemployment, and to addressing narcotrafficking and violent crime. His administration has faced criticism of influence by wealthy businessmen and the U.S. On February 10, 1990, the Endara government abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces.
Endara later distanced himself from the party due to differences of opinion with party leader Mireya Moscoso
. He ran in the 2004 Panamanian presidential election as the candidate of the Solidarity Party. He finished second to Martín Torrijos. Recently, he founded his own political party Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
.
In 1990, the party was renamed the Arnulfista Party in its longtime leader's honor. Party members had been called "Arnulfistas" for many years. It lost the 1994 presidential elections to the Democratic Revolutionary Party
(PRD) administration of Ernesto Pérez Balladares
, acting as the main opposition party before regaining the presidency in 1999 under Mireya Moscoso
.
In 1994, a constitutional amendment permanently abolished the military of Panama.
The Arnulfista Party party changed its name back to the old Panameñista Party in 2005. It is Panama's second largest political party with over 250,000 members.
At the last legislative elections
, 2 May 2004, the party won 19.2 % of the popular vote and 17 out of 78 seats. In presidential elections held the same day, its candidate, José Miguel Alemán
, finished a poor third, with 16.4% of the vote.
on May 3, 2009. Juan Carlos Varela
was the candidate of the Panameñista Party, but eventually supported Ricardo Martinelli
in a coalition of four parties, led by Martinelli's Democratic Change party. With 60% of the vote, Martinelli went on to beat the incumbent Democratic Revolutionary Party
who had formed its own three-party coalition. Varela, the Panameñista, is now Panama's vice president
to President Martinelli. Former 1990's president Guillermo Endara placed a distant third with 2.3% of the vote as the official candidate for the new Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
, after gaining 31% in the last elections (2004).
Martinelli's and Varela's Alliance for Change
coalition also dominated the National Assembly
in 2009, winning 44 seats against 27 of the second-place coalition, with 2 other seats belonging to independents. A total of 22 legislative seats went specifically to the Panameñista Party.
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
.
Founding and early history
The party is the oldest in Panama. It was founded in 1932 by Arnulfo Arias Madrid, a prominent medical , as the National Revolutionary Party. Its membership largely came from Patriotic Communal Action, a nationalist organization that opposed the large amount of AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
influence in Panama which had led a coup in 1930. The party s' first "Supreme Leader" and President was Ezequiel Fernandez Jaen, a key member of the "Patriotic Communal Action". Ezequiel Fernández Jaén became second Vice-President to Panamá s' President Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, who died in power. Ezequiel Fernández Jaén, became President of Panamá for only 3 days, after Juan Demostenes Arosemena died and while the first Vice-President Augusto Samuel Boyd arrived from Washington, where he was the Panamanian Ambassador.
In 1936, Harmodio's younger brother, Arnulfo Arias Madrid, became a national leader and President of Panamá in 1940. In the early 1930s, he had begun promoting a nationalist doctrine called "Panameñismo" (Panamanianism), and this became the basis for the party. It was renamed the Panameñista Party in the mid-1940s. His logo is "Por un Panamá Mejor"
Support for and opposition to Torrijos
After 1940, the party was dominated by Arnulfo Arias, who was elected president of Panama three times and deposed by the military each time. After his third ouster, in 1968, a small dissident group broke with AriasArnulfo Arias
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968.- Origins :...
to support the military regime of Omar Torrijos
Omar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...
. In return, the Torrijos regime allowed the dissidents to take over the party's registration. The main body, however, remained with Arias and renamed itself the Authentic Panameñista Party. Known by its Spanish acronym, "PPA," it was one of the leading opponents to Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...
.
Opposition to Noriega
Arnulfo Arias was to have been the party's candidate for president in 1989, but he died in 1988. He was succeeded as party leader by his widow, Mireya MoscosoMireya Moscoso
Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias is a Panamanian political figure. She was the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004, representing the Arnulfista Party...
. For the 1989 elections, the party was the main component of an anti-Noriega coalition, with the PPA's Guillermo Endara
Guillermo Endara
Guillermo David Endara Galimany was the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. He ran for office in 2004 and 2009 but lost to the former President Martin Torrijos and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli....
as the coalition's presidential candidate. Pamaneñista election tallies showed a win for Endara by a 3-to-1 margin over Noriega's candidate, Carlos Duque, but those elections were nullified by Noriega, who claimed election fraud. Noriega was overthrown in the United States invasion of Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
a few months later. The night before the invasion, in the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, Guillermo Endara
Guillermo Endara
Guillermo David Endara Galimany was the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. He ran for office in 2004 and 2009 but lost to the former President Martin Torrijos and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli....
, was sworn in by a judge.
Postwar events
The government of Guillermo Endara designated the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion a "national day of reflection". On that day hundreds of Panamanians marked the day with a "black march" through the streets of this capital to denounce the U.S. invasion and Endara's economic policies. Protesters echoed claims that 3,000 people were killed as a result of U.S. military action.Endara is noted for staging a public hunger strike to call attention to poverty and homelessness left in the wake of the Noriega years and destruction caused by the U.S. invasion. He visited then U.S. President George Bush, pressing for emergency relief aid and cooperative measures to curtail the Panamanian narcotics trade. He is credited with restoring confidence in the banking industry, reducing unemployment, and to addressing narcotrafficking and violent crime. His administration has faced criticism of influence by wealthy businessmen and the U.S. On February 10, 1990, the Endara government abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces.
Endara later distanced himself from the party due to differences of opinion with party leader Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias is a Panamanian political figure. She was the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004, representing the Arnulfista Party...
. He ran in the 2004 Panamanian presidential election as the candidate of the Solidarity Party. He finished second to Martín Torrijos. Recently, he founded his own political party Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Vanguardia Moral de la Patria is a relatively new Panamanian political party led by Guillermo Endara who was a candidate for the presidential elections of 2009....
.
Recent history
Since Noriega's ouster, Panama has had three presidential elections, with candidates from opposing parties succeeding each other in the Palacio de las Garzas.In 1990, the party was renamed the Arnulfista Party in its longtime leader's honor. Party members had been called "Arnulfistas" for many years. It lost the 1994 presidential elections to the Democratic Revolutionary Party
Democratic Revolutionary Party
The Democratic Revolutionary Party is a Panamanian political party. It was founded in 1979 by the General Omar Torrijos, and is generally described as a party of the centre-left of the political spectrum.-History and creation:...
(PRD) administration of Ernesto Pérez Balladares
Ernesto Pérez Balladares
Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999. Nicknamed "El Toro" , Ernesto Pérez Balladares is married to Dora Boyd Preciado, with 3 daughters.-Studies :...
, acting as the main opposition party before regaining the presidency in 1999 under Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias is a Panamanian political figure. She was the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004, representing the Arnulfista Party...
.
In 1994, a constitutional amendment permanently abolished the military of Panama.
The Arnulfista Party party changed its name back to the old Panameñista Party in 2005. It is Panama's second largest political party with over 250,000 members.
At the last legislative elections
Elections in Panama
Elections in Panama gives information on election and election results in Panama.Panama elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president and the vice-president are elected on one ballot for a five year term by the people...
, 2 May 2004, the party won 19.2 % of the popular vote and 17 out of 78 seats. In presidential elections held the same day, its candidate, José Miguel Alemán
José Miguel Alemán
José Miguel Alemán Healy is a Panamanian politician.He spent a significant part of his childhood living in Washington, DC while his father, Roberto Alemán Zubieta, was serving as one of the leading negotiators for the Robles-Johnson Treaties and later on as Ambassador of Panama to the United...
, finished a poor third, with 16.4% of the vote.
Moscoso and press restrictions
Moscoso included in her platform a pledge to work to repeal press restrictions that criminalize criticism of public officials and permit prior censorship; in 1999 she signed a bill that mandated the submission of legislation to bring Panama's press laws in line with international standards by June 2000. This legislation was not forthcoming, but government disclosure laws were passed in 2001. Lawsuits against journalists continued; even President Moscoso, along with Winston Spadafora, the former minister of government and justice and a current Supreme Court justice, filed a criminal defamation suit. In 2005, many of the 'gag laws' enacted under military rule in the 1960s were repealed by new president Martin Torrijos.2009 elections
Presidential and legislative elections were held in PanamaPanama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
on May 3, 2009. Juan Carlos Varela
Juan Carlos Varela
Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez is a Panamanian politician who has been Vice President of Panama since 2009. Along with President Ricardo Martinelli, he was elected on May 3, 2009 and sworn in on July 1, 2009. He also serves as the Minister of Foreign Relations...
was the candidate of the Panameñista Party, but eventually supported Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Martinelli
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was elected the 49th President of Panama in 2009. He is a Panamanian of Italian descent from his father's side.- Early life :...
in a coalition of four parties, led by Martinelli's Democratic Change party. With 60% of the vote, Martinelli went on to beat the incumbent Democratic Revolutionary Party
Democratic Revolutionary Party
The Democratic Revolutionary Party is a Panamanian political party. It was founded in 1979 by the General Omar Torrijos, and is generally described as a party of the centre-left of the political spectrum.-History and creation:...
who had formed its own three-party coalition. Varela, the Panameñista, is now Panama's vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
to President Martinelli. Former 1990's president Guillermo Endara placed a distant third with 2.3% of the vote as the official candidate for the new Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party
Vanguardia Moral de la Patria is a relatively new Panamanian political party led by Guillermo Endara who was a candidate for the presidential elections of 2009....
, after gaining 31% in the last elections (2004).
Martinelli's and Varela's Alliance for Change
Alliance for Change
The Alliance for Change was a political alliance formed in Mexico for the purpose of fighting the general election of 2 July 2000.There were two member parties of the alliance: the National Action Party , and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico .With 43.43% of the popular vote in a three-horse...
coalition also dominated the National Assembly
National Assembly of Panama
The National Assembly , formerly the Legislative Assembly , is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Panama.It is a unicameral legislature, currently made up of 71 members, who serve five-year terms...
in 2009, winning 44 seats against 27 of the second-place coalition, with 2 other seats belonging to independents. A total of 22 legislative seats went specifically to the Panameñista Party.