What to expect from Varela after Panama’s presidential inauguration

Secretary of State John Kerry will travel south to Panama City on July 1^st to head a presidential delegation attending president-elect Juan Carlos Varela’s inauguration; Panama’s new leader is expected to pave the road for a bureaucratic overhaul of his country, while it’s economy continues to grow.

Following a tightly contested election in May, Varela will seek to take the reins of a government that has recently been mired in accusations of expansive corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency. Despite continued economic growth and a promising fiscal outlook under his predecessor, Varela faces a skeptical Panamanian populace that has grown disillusioned by past administrations, which have exhibited little pragmatism and transparency.

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Prior to this year’s election, and while serving as vice-president under his predecessor, Ricardo Martinelli, Varela underwent a very public spat with his counterpart after becoming increasingly critical of his executive methods and decisions. The former vice-president was particularly vociferous when it came to what he viewed as abuses of the executive office that exceeded their legal bounds.

Due to the rift, Varela was stripped of all of his major administrative responsibilities while still in office.

Distancing himself from the Martinelli

Upon distancing himself from former President Martinelli, Varela increasingly distinguished himself as the voice of the opposition, even while still serving within the administration. Due to constitutional restrictions, the incumbent Martinelli was not eligible for re-election following two terms in office; as such, this year’s election pitted Varela against Martinelli’s protégé, Jose Domingo Arias. While initially favored to win the election, a late surge in the polls by Varela resulted in Arias coming out on the losing end of the vote.

As he readies himself for inauguration, President-elect Varela faces an economic and political landscape that is surprisingly similar to that of his southern counterpart, newly re-elected President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia. Following a tight election of his own, Santos retook office with objectives that focus less on the economy and more on political reform.

As Colombia continues to experience consistent economic growth following decades of violent civil strife, the South American nation’s recent election was a battle of political philosophy and not of economic policy.