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Caribbean & Central America - July 2014 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Varela assumes office

Juan Carlos Varela was sworn-in as Panama’s new president on 1 July, marking the return to power for the conservative Partido Panameñista (PPA) after a decade. A last minute deal with the PPA’s traditional rival, the Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) over “legislative governability” bodes well for Varela in terms of addressing one difficulty – his party’s weak legislative presence. Yet questions persist not only as to the durability of the deal but also as to how far Varela will be able to make good some of his declared pledges such as tackling institutional corruption.

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