* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
“The person who claims the legitimacy of authority always bears the burden of justifying it. And if they cannot justify it, it is illegitimate and should be dismantled. “To tell you the truth, I don’t really understand anarchism as much more than that.”
This phrase from Noam Chomsky summarizes what happened in the electoral process in Panama, in which a group of adversaries tried, through an unconstitutional lawsuit, to invalidate the candidacy of the favorite in the electoral polls and managed to confront two institutions. of the State, the Judicial Branch and the Electoral Court; and they almost achieved their objective: promoting anarchy and the possible suspension of the electoral elections.
After a long uncertainty that, although it may seem contradictory, benefited him, a large part of the voting population cast their vote in favor of José Raúl Mulino, who won the great victory, becoming the elected president of the Republic of Panama.
His name was for weeks on the lips of all Panamanians who were anxiously and insecurely awaiting the decision of the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice to decide the unconstitutionality or constitutionality of Mulino’s candidacy for the Presidency.
On Friday, May 3, the electoral ban begins and by coincidence, early that same day, the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice announce to the social media the constitutionality of Mulino’s candidacy.
For me, they were his true publicity, when he pronounced, two days before the elections, the constitutionality of the electoral offer of the sued candidate. Chance and the ministry, who knows?
Social networks became involved with a phrase: “Mulino’s candidacy: it is constitutional.” On May 5, at night, his opponents, upon learning of his victory, described him as extreme right, a simplifying component that sought to polarize political life in search of antagonism. But, he did not fall into the trap, he publicly defined himself as right-wing.
And, to add insult to injury to the message for his detractors, the Panamanians who voted for Mulino were the poor, those who for 10 years saw their assets destroyed, many of them with informal jobs and others unemployed.
They did not believe in the other electoral offers that the other candidates promised, among them: lowering the cost of electricity to $5 five dollars as the candidate financed solar panels in popular sectors. And he boasted that if he came to power, he would generate more than 500,000 jobs.
They did not allow themselves to be fooled, and they manipulated these politicians by accepting the gifts they offered for the vote and did not vote for them. The revenge of the marginalized.
Mulino’s foreign policy will be based on the fact that Panama is the “best neighbor,” and that is true. Mulino turns his gaze to Europe. He announced that the diplomatic headquarters of Panama in Brussels, Belgium, will be formed with a team of specialists to remove the country from the undesirable black and gray lists, which have caused so much damage to the Panamanian economy.
At the American level, the closure of the border with Colombia and returning migrants to their country of origin. Mulino was decisive in pointing out that “Panama and our Darién is not a transit route. No sir, that is our border,” and he added that he will make an effort “to end the Darién odyssey, which has no reason to exist.”
These phrases were enough to convince Panamanian society, which is not xenophobic, but tired of the excesses that illegal immigration produces.
Concomitantly, in the coming days Colombian President Gustavo Petro will travel to Panama to meet with President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, a meeting that the president-elect will attend. There is not much to say, the central topic: migration.
Meanwhile, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in sustained conservation with Mulino, expressed his interest in Panama becoming part of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). Come on, things are looking good for the country on an international level.
In national security, the president-elect faces transnational crime – drug trafficking – which is debated between what is legal and what is illegal, which encourages the production of chronic behaviors, hitmen, which affects daily life. Therefore, he must address this situation from his structure, cut off the financing of these powerful cartels and break that first link.
Although many political analysts affirm that Mulino will find it difficult to govern with the new structure of the Legislative Assembly, made up mostly of young independent deputies, I do not agree with this.
With the formation of this new Legislative Assembly, part of the corruption that prevailed in this State body was eradicated. That serious problem is almost solved. These young politicians will become Mulino’s support point so as not to lose his balance.
As proof of the above, the opposition leader Vamos and former deputy, Juan Diego Vásquez, after Mulino’s intervention upon being proclaimed president-elect of the country by the Electoral Court, stated in his account X: “I heard a speech that “It builds bridges and that seems healthy and necessary to me in critical moments.”
And I conclude with these phrases pronounced by the proclaimed president-elect, José Raúl Mulino:
“There cannot be, and I say this with great conviction because I saw it in all parts of the country, the rampant, sad and intolerable inequality with which we live in this country. Panama is too big. And I feel very proud and at the same time very committed to leading and being its president for the next five years.”
Panamanians have pinned their hopes on this man.
