After seven defeats in eight presidential elections across Latin America, the right results were finally achieved in Panama. The doubters, naysayers and chavistas were wrong: Despite freedom-lover fears, a free market democrat roundly defeated his ultra leftist opponent.
Ricardo Martinelli, a successful businessman and respected government minister, trounced radical, corrupt Balbina Herrera, a strong supporter of Venezuela’s socialist autocrat Hugo Chavez.
Despite Martinelli holding a solid lead in pre-election polls, many observers predicted May 3 would see still another victory for the left in Panama. March and April victories by Chavez allies Mauricio Funes in El Salvador and Rafael Correa in Ecuador, were considered precursors to still another defeat for the center Right.
But there was to be no hat trick for the Left in Panama. Nor was it a close contest, as more than 60 percent of the electorate voted for Ricardo Martinelli’s solid experience and against the predictable corruption combined with debilitating socialism that Herrera represented.
It was not just the stark differences between the candidates, however. Previous regional elections had seen capable candidates solidly defeated by clearly less proven opponents, in Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua and most recently in El Salvador.
What tipped the balance in Martinelli’s favor was an awakening by voters to the poor performance of leftist regimes throughout the region, including Panama. The Panamanian press reported on the mounting problems facing Venezuela, with stories that traced the economy’s steady slide during the decade Hugo Chavez has been in power.
Mega TV detailed how Chavez subversively funded Herrera by selling oil at deep discounts to compliant businessmen who funneled their proceeds to her campaign.
In contrast, the Martinelli campaign positioned their candidate as a results-oriented businessman and government minister. Herrera sought to obscure her connections to Chavez and disgraced Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega [currently residing in a penitentiary in Florida]; while Martinelli spoke in support of the free trade agreement negotiated with the United States and his campaign reminded voters of his U.S. education, as contrasted with his opponent’s in Cuba.
Not only did the Latino Left not gain its third presidential victory in three months: the Right proved it can win with a strong candidate running a well-organized campaign. In addition, unlike other elections in the region, the winning side was unified.
Daniel Ortega, having been defeated when seeking re-election as president of Nicaragua in 1990, 1996 and 2001, was returned to office with 38 percent of the vote in 2006 solely because the center Right failed to unify on a single candidate, giving the country another term of disastrous governance.
Martinelli’s election as Panama’s next president was no accident. A strong candidate waged a well-structured campaign that roundly defeated both his radical left opponent, and simultaneously defamed the daunting agitprop that a continuing stream of leftist victories was inevitable.
May the rest of the western hemisphere take heed.
John R. Thomson is an American journalist and geo-political analyst who lives in Colombia.
