PANAMA: Panamanian voters went to the polls yesterday to elect a new president after a bitter campaign marked by wild promises and dirty tricks. Mr Martín Torrijos, son of former dictator Omar Torrijos, is favourite to win the contest, raising White House fears of an emerging progressive axis linking Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina.
Mr Torrijos has promised health, education, housing and jobs for Panama's three million citizens, an uphill battle as poverty affects 40 per cent of the people and unemployment stands at 15 per cent.
Torrijos snr was a nationalist strongman who ruled with an iron fist but was popular among the poor and negotiated the return of the Panama Canal from US hands, a deal which ensured his place in the history books. The incoming president will face a referendum battle over the future of the canal, which requires costly investment if it is to regain influence in the region.
Presidential rivals have warned voters against electing Mr Torrijos, claiming his administration would sour relations with the US government. However, Mr Torrijos's political outlook bears little resemblance to his father's style, with the candidate having studied economics at Texas University and worked as a manager at a McDonalds.
"My father lived in an era in which power came through the army barracks whereas my battle is with marketing and managing," said Mr Torrijos.
On returning to Panama in 1990, Mr Torrijos joined his father's Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), and was awarded a post in the Ernesto Balladares government (1994-99).
Mr Torrijos's chief rival is former president Guillermo Endara, who led opposition efforts to dislodge infamous dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, who was ousted during the US invasion in 1989. All four presidential rivals have pledged to overhaul the nation's corrupt political system, renouncing party badges in favour of electoral banners which emphasise the words Solidarity, Vision, Patriotism and Change.
The PRD has the highest membership of any political group in the country and was the only party to hold primaries to determine the choice of presidential candidate. However, the previous PRD administration was voted out of office amidst widespread charges of corruption which involved Mr Torrijos's current campaign chief and a number of party legislators.