The results of the PRD elections ratify the political power of the legislators

PANAMA - In Brief 16 May 2022 by Marco Fernandez
What the 4,146 delegates (only 1.3% absentees) decided in Sunday`s PRD elections of the National Executive Committee (CEN) of the Party confirmed the power of the legislators vis-à-vis the executive. The PRD is not only the party of President Cortizo; it also has a majority of diputados in the Legislative Assembly and is, by far, the largest party in the country (it has 694,836 registered members; 25.2% of potential voters). Rubén de León was elected Secretary General, the most powerful post in the CEN. He served as legislator for two terms in the past and is now a diputado (representative) in the Central America PARLACEN. De León beat the incumbent, Pedro Miguel González, by a close margin. Benicio Robinson, the most powerful politician in Panama, who is a legislator from the poor Bocas del Toro province, was elected president of the party, defeating former Minister of Health Rosario Turner, who ran as an anti-establishment candidate (anti-legislators) within the party. His first statement was harsh criticism of the Minister of Infrastructure, Rafael Sabonge, a sign of future disputes between the party (and a core of the legislators) against the executive. As previously mentioned, the CEN now leans towards the legislators. Six out of seven elected members of the CEN come from the Legislative Assembly, and one is a representative of local authorities. Only two are "anti-legislators" of sorts: two ministers and one independent. Only one is a woman. This structure will be in place for five years, thus influencing the PRD´s presidential primaries. The voting did not convey any ideological trend, as the only open left-leaning candidate, Pedro Miguel González, lost to De Le...

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