Blandón and Etchelecu polarize contention

Blandón and Etchelecu polarize contention

From September 11 to October 25 is the campaign period for the candidates of the Panamanian party heading to the primaries on October 28.

By La Estrella de Panama

The different political forces within the official Panameñista Party begin to align around the presidential candidate that they will support in the primary elections of this political group, which will take place on Sunday, October 28 next.

Ten are the candidates who aspire to carry the Panamanian flag for the presidential election of May 5, 2019, among them: the mayor of the capital, José Blandón; the former director of the Ampyme Ada Romero; the former Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning Mario Etchelecu; Rodrigo Salamón Pérez Guillén, Ricardo Springer, Luis López, Juan Aguilar Rodríguez, José Díaz, Miguel Batista Guerra and the former director of the Social Security Fund Rolando Villalaz.

However, this just policy, which has the support of deputies, representatives of corregimiento and mayors of Panamaniacism, is practically polarized between the aspirants José Blandón and Mario Etchelecu.

Already the 16 deputies of Panamanianism begin to show their favoritism, either by Blandón or Etchelecu.

Blandón has the support of deputies Jorge Alberto Rosas, Katleen Levy, Jorge Iván Arrocha, José Luis Castillo, Juan Miguel Ríos, Adolfo Valderrama, Luis Eduardo Quirós and Gabriel Soto; while deputies Miguel Salas, Carlos Santana, Juan Moya, Juan Serrano and José Antonio Domínguez would be supporting Etchelecu.

Florentino Ábrego, who will not seek re-election, would be supporting Etchelecu with his political cadres. Meanwhile, Luis Barría remains undecided and has not defined who he will support.

On the other hand, José Luis Varela, who presides over the party, has not publicly shown his intention to back any of the pre-candidacies.

POLARIZED PROCESS

But which of the two pre-candidates will have the advantage in these internal elections?

For electoral expert Javier Ordinola, there is no doubt that the Panamanian presidential election will be polarized between Mayor Blandón and former Minister Etchelecu.

Ordinola said that the support of the deputies will be important; However, he considered that he does not know to what extent this support will be decisive, taking into account that the Panameñistas only have 16 deputies, unlike the PRD, with 26 deputies, who mostly backed Laurentino Cortizo in his presidential election.

"The support of deputies could be that it is not as forceful as it was in the presidential interior of the PRD; it would be necessary to see if that support results in the end in the triumph in the primaries by who they support more strongly, "he said.

Ordinola also said that the deputies have a structure under them and they are able to mobilize voters on the day of the vote, as well as the representatives of corregimiento and the mayors.

He also expressed that if President Juan Carlos Varela bowed down for one of the candidates, his opinion would always be heard by the membership and many people may be inclined towards the direction determined by the president.

He considered that in these Panamanian internal elections the political route, the experience and the political relations within the group will weigh heavily.

"The background of Blandón, who has already been a deputy, is a weighty antecedent and, obviously, Etchelecu has its disadvantage as the fact that he is just a known figure in public life," said the expert on electoral issues.

DISPERSED VOTE

Meanwhile, the deputy Miguel Salas, who supports Etchelecu, said that in the Panamanians there will be a different scenario from the PRD, because the vote is more dispersed.

He pointed out that although Mayor Blandón has the backing of more deputies, most of the corregimiento representatives and mayors have greater sympathy with Etchelecu.

"There are commitments with deputies, but these deputies have representatives and mayors, who in turn have commitments to their presidential candidates," he said.

Salas added that Etchelecu has been doing a job within the party, from the bottom up, working a lot with the local authorities. "This is Etchelecu's advantage, apart from having experienced deputies and ex-deputies with him."

In addition to having the support of deputies, Etchelecu is supported by the Minister of Social Development, Alcibiades Vásquez; the Secretary of Goals, Jorge González; and the former Minister of the Presidency Álvaro Alemán.

While Blandón is backed by the ministers of Labor, Luis Ernesto Carles; of Agricultural Development, Eduardo Carles; of Environment, Emilio Sempris; and the administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority, Jorge Barakat.

LEADERSHIP

For Deputy Luis Eduardo Quirós, who supports Blandón, the strength of the capital's mayor lies in different local leaders, experience and demonstrated ability. "He has run for different positions and has always won," said Quirós.