Caribbean & Central America - October 2009 (ISSN 1741-4458)

The leadership of the opposition Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) resigned en masse on 5 October as part of declared efforts to “renovate and rejuvenate" the party from within. The move is the latest sign of the ongoing crisis afflicting the PRD, which has yet to recover from its defeat in the 3 May presidential and legislative elections.

Party infighting had proved a significant factor in the PRD's defeat [RC-09-05], together with corruption scandals and the personal unpopularity of its presidential candidate, Balbina Herrera. Even the way in which the “collective" decision to resign was announced made these divisions obvious; Juan Carlos Navarro, Herrera's running mate and former Panama City mayor, who has made no secret of his disdain for Herrera or former president Martí­n Torrijos (2004-2009) [RC-09-07], declared he was stepping down a day earlier than the rest of his colleagues, reportedly betraying an agreement to resign “collectively". The resignations take effect from 18 October, when a special national meeting of the PRD will take place to discuss the party's future.

The need to “renovate and rejuvenate", particularly at a grassroots level, has never been more necessary. Statistics from the national electoral tribunal show PRD membership has dropped from 636,404 in May to 612,823 at the end of August. The party has also suffered from the declared “anti-corruption offensive" launched by the new government of President Ricardo Martinelli, which has included re-opening the investigation into the 2001 'Cemis' corruption scandal [RC-09-08]. The case involves allegations that PRD deputies were bribed to vote in favour of a contract-law between the-then government and the San Lorenzo Consortium to develop the Services and Multimodal Industrial Centre (Cemis) in the Colón Free Zone.

The current crisis afflicting the party has failed to dampen the leadership aspirations of party members. So far Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, a former president of the national assembly and ex minister of agricultural development, has stepped forward to declare his interest in becoming the next PRD general secretary.

• Cortizo

Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, who competed in the most recent presidential primaries for the opposition Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD), coming a distant third, has general support in the party. He could however face difficulties over the re-opening of the CEMIS scandal given his role at the time as chair of the congressional commerce committee, responsible for reviewing the CEMIS contract. He has, unsurprisingly, strenuously sought to distance himself from the scandal.