PANAMA POST: THE WATER COOLER REPORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000944 SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO WHADP COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018 TAGS: PGOV PM SUBJECT: PANAMA POST: THE WATER COOLER REPORTS Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo. Reasons: 1.4 (b), (c),and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU/NF) Welcome to the second edition of the revamped Panama Post, a new collaborative effort between Embassy Panama's Political Section (POL) and the Open Source Center (OSC),that we are going to call "The Report from the Water Cooler." OSC provides POL a steady stream of current news, the kind of fodder that serves as the nucleus for the chatter around POL's water cooler where we banter about the latest tidbits that we have collected from our contacts. OSC and POL hope to provide you, our loyal readers, an opportunity to listen in to some of the highlights from our water cooler chatter. In this edition of the Panama Post, our headlines are: - Democratic Change (CD) presidential candidate Ricardo Martinelli cruising on 10 point lead as speculation regarding VP pick increases; - Governing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) reacts with criticism over surprise naming by Balbina Herrera of Panama City Mayor (and former contender for the PRD's presidential nomination) Juan Carlos Navarro as her VP running mate; - Gaffe by Panamanian Ambassador to Belgium (and brother of PRD presidential candidate Balbina Herrera) Pablo Garrido may cost GOP USD 30 million; and - As Panamenista presidential candidate Juan Carlos Varela lags badly in polls, are panamenistas getting itchy feet? Those not familiar with OSC's excellent unclassified summaries of open source media should log on to www.opensource.gov and set up an account for daily updates on issues, regions or countries of your choice. OSC analysts follow open source material on a daily basis providing translations of timely news stories and analysis. OSC can also be a partner in providing contributions across the Hemisphere and around the world. Those of you not signed up for OSC accounts are missing out on their daily reporting on developments in your own backyard. We here in POL, hope that our colleagues at posts throughout the Hemisphere can tap into OSC's resources to more effectively track the day-to-day in their countries; contact POLCOUNS Brian Naranjo to find out how to get started. END SUMMARY. -------------- - Martinelli cruises on 10 Point Lead; VP Pick? -------------- - ¶2. (SBU//NF) If the elections were held in December, Democratic Change (CD) presidential candidate Ricardo Martinelli would win by ten or more points over governing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) presidential candidate Balbina Herrera, according to polling data published in Panama City media over the past couple of weeks (SEPTEL). Martinelli, in December, was the preferred presidential pick of roughly 40 percent of voters, reflecting a steady growth of three to four points monthly since September. Front runner Martinelli could not be reached for comment on this surge in the polls as he was enjoying a brief vacation aboard Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas on its maiden voyage from Colon, Panama to Cartagena and the Netherlands Antilles. Herrera's hoped for bounce in the polls in the wake of naming Panama City Mayor and her former contender for the PRD nomination Juan Carlos Navarro did not materialize. Instead, Herrera who trailed Martinelli and took in only 31.4 percent support in the Dichter and Neira poll, fell 2 points from November. Panamenista presidential candidate Juan Carlos Varela garnered only 16.8 percent support trailing in a distant third place. Moral Vanguard of the Nation (VMP) presidential candidate and former president Guillermo Endara just barely beat the margin of error by 0.1 percent with 3.0 percent support. Speculation now turns to whom Martinelli will select as his VP running mate. Patriotic Union (UP) president and former FM Jose Raul Mulino put down a marker that, in keeping with CD's alliance with UP, Martinelli's VP had to be a UP member and added that he himself would be willing to take the job, if offered. Other names mentioned in the press include UP VP Anibal Galindo, former Panamenista presidential nomination contender Alberto Vallarino, and TVN morning news show star Lucy Molinar. Vallarino published a letter in multiple Panama City dailies asserting his loyalty to Panamenista primary victor Varela and underscoring that he could not legally switch parties to enable him to accept the VP nomination. ¶3. (C) Comment: "We want to win," Martinelli campaign advisor Jimmy Papadimitriu scoffed when asked by POLCOUNS on December 17 whether Mulino would get the VP nod. Mulino, who walked into Papadimitriu's office moments later, was ebullient and told POLCOUNS, "Martinelli is going to beat Balbina." Later, Papadimitriu explained that any VP candidate would simply need to register as a UP member if not already part of the party; "Ricardo is strong right now, and the 'patrioticos' really do not have the strength to dictate the veep slot." Before ducking into a strategy session with Mulino and Galindo who had just arrived, Martinelli himself subsequently confirmed that he was courting Oprah-esque Molinar to run with him. "She would a really strong force against Balbina," Martinelli explained. "She's black, educated, successful, from Colon, and has built a reputation on her show as somebody who has the average Panamanians interests at heart." The Panama Post hears though that Molinar, to date, has not been interested in a life in politics. Martinelli must make his VP choice before the CD-UP convention on January 11. -------------- -------------- PRD Reacts to Surprise Naming of Navarro as VP Candidate -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU/NF) PRD presidential candidate Balbina Herrera's unexpected late-November decision to name Panama City Mayor and former PRD presidential nomination challenger Juan Carlos Navarro as her VP running mate drew criticism from within this party's normally disciplined and unified ranks. One unnamed campaign advisor told the press that he was surprised that that the decision had been made so quickly despite Herrera's earlier statements that she would not name her running mate until late December or early January and that other VP candidates were still being evaluated. Boris Moreno, who claimed to be an insider on Herrera's strategy team, stated that Navarro's appointment was "a high-risk political move that was not discussed" within the party. Allegedly, Herrera's weakening ranking in the polls pushed Herrera to move up her VP announcement. Other PRD insiders -- unnamed, of course -- told the press that that Herrera was trying to distance herself from President and PRD SecGen Martin Torrijos by signaling that she, not the President, was calling the shots for her campaign. Navarro is widely believed to want to run for president in 2014 while rumors resurfaced that Torrijos would seek a constitutional reform to allow him too to run in 2014, five years earlier than currently permitted. Torrijos' remarks that he would not "allow" Herrera to lose the election, drew fire from the opposition: former President Mireya Moscoso asserted that Torrijos' remarks were "mistaken" and raised suspicions; CD talking head Roberto Henriquez said the CD would "defend its votes like lions" despite the PRD's history of fraud, ballot box theft and other electoral crimes; Varela said Torrijos' remarks "smacked of trickery;" and Martinelli said Torrijos' remarks did not worry him as he Martinelli was focused on generating jobs and addressing Panama's rising crime. ¶5. (C) Comment: To date, Herrera does not appear to have benefited from any "Navarro effect" by naming the more moderate, business friendly, upper class, Panama City mayor to her ticket. Polling from early December suggest that one-fourth to one-third of the PRD believed that adding Navarro to the ticket would unify the party, while voters at large believed that naming Navarro to the ticket forebode an opposition victory (SEPTEL). "The real battle being waged right now inside the PRD is for control of the party," PRD leader and former Executive Secretary of the Council for Public Safety and National Defense (CSPDN) Javier Martinez Acha told POLOFFs December 19. "Torrijos is weak, so Balbina and Juan Carlos are angling for control of the party." (Note: Herrera is PRD President, and Navarro is the PRD National Executive Committee (CEN) First Sub-Secretary.) "If Herrera loses, Navarro wins," explained Martinez Acha. Acknowledging POLCOUNS's remark that that would be a highly cynical political strategy, Martinez Acha responded, "Juan Carlos is a highly cynical politician." Navarro's primary campaign manager Ivan Gonzalez told POLCOUNS on December 23 that Navarro himself was surprised when Herrera actually offered him the VP slot. "Juan Carlos told Balbina on November 25 that he would accept the vice presidential nomination if she offered it to him by November 30; after that he would not and she'd be on her own," Gonzalez explained. "Balbina is so weak in the polls that she had no other option than to offer the job to Navarro. She needed to stop the bleeding." Gonzalez also portrayed the Herrera-Navarro alliance as an effort to counter Torrijos and First VP and FM (and Navarro's cousin) Samuel Lewis in the struggle to take control of the PRD. Absent from Gonzalez's remarks was any sense of true warmth and affinity between Herrera and Navarro. Indeed, POLCOUNS was left with the impression that Navarro was content with his position as regardless of whether Herrera wins or loses, Navarro would come out on top. Whether Herrera wins or loses, Navarro would have positioned himself as a valiant PRD loyalist who did his duty to resurect a flagging Herrera candidacy, weaken Torrijos' standing in the party, and position himself to run in 2014 as the PRD standard bearer. -------------- Balbina's Brother Throws Her a Doozie -------------- ¶6. (SBU//NF) Widely believed to have been asleep at the switch, Panamanian Ambassador to Belgium and Herrera's brother Pablo Garrido failed to notify the MFA and Ministry of Industry and International Commerce (MICI) in a timely manner that Panama needed to file to renew its General System of Preferences (GSP) privileges with the European Commission. Trade relations with the EU became strained when the GOP issued a paid communique in the local media effectively blaming the EU for the mistake. On December 11, the EU announced that Panama's exclusion from the preferential trade provisions program was "irrevocable" and that Panama could re-apply in 2010. Attempting to restore its standard with Panamanian exporters, the GOP announced that it would expend some USD 30 million to compensate exporters for the higher duties that they would face. Stating that Garrido received his ambassadorial appointment because of his ties of kinship with Herrera, not because of his talent, Varela demanded Garrido's removal. ¶7. (C) Comment: Garrido's gaffe will not lead directly harm Herrera's standing per se, but it will contribute to a growing perception that Torrijos' PRD government is the gang that cannot shoot straight. Add Garrido's gaffe to the pile of PRD-negative stories like Panama City's growing crime wave, problems in the Darien, and high prices for food staples. According to MFA insider Ernesto Cerrud, Garrido and Herrera's daughter who also works at the Embassy in Brussels were both AWOL working on Herrera's campaign when the GSP issue came to a head. Herrera's kin, Cerrud explained, had left the embassy's cultural attache at the helm in their absence. Other similar stories of incompetence and/or malfeasance have also dogged Herrera's son and campaign advisor Virgilio Perpinan including: a lingering court case over two shipments of dioxin tainted onions and her son's possible involvement in the importation of mislabeled toxin diethylene glycol that wound up in Panamanian cough syrup resulting in dozens of deaths. While able to choose her VP running mate, Herrera is also probably wishing she were able to choose her kin. -------------- MOLIRENistas, Panamenistas Begin to Jump Ship -------------- ¶8. (SBU//NF) Panama City-based media are rife with speculation that Panamenista opinion leaders are abandoning Varela's ship. Panamenista member and former Director General of the Technical Judicial Police (PTJ, now party of the Panamanian National Policy and called the Directorate for Judicial Investigations or DIJ) Jaime Abad publicly enrolled as a member of the CD. Abad cited his interest in advancing a new security plan to fight rising delinquency, crime, and drug trafficking. Martinelli declared that Abad's decision to join the CD underscored that his administration would be comprised of the best and the brightest from all political walks of life: PRD, Panamenista, or independent. ¶9. (C) Comment: Abad's public enrollment with CD is only the tip of the iceberg. Members of Panamenista alliance partner MOLIRENA are increasingly becoming restless too. MOLIRENA National Assembly Deputy Marylu Vallarino would soon switch party affiliation and join CD, Papadimitriu told POLCOUNS December 17. Other Panamenista leaders are also quietly and not so quietly reaching out Martinelli including: former Panamenista presidential nomination candidates Jose Miguel Aleman (2004) and Alberto Vallarino (2008),National Assembly deputies Jose Luis Varela (also Varela's brother) and Alcibades Vasquez, and former president Mireya Moscoso. As the Panama Post went to press, rumors abounded that MOLIRENA would break its alliance the Panamenista Party paving the way to join with the CD and UP. Press speculation alleged that MOLIRENA President Sergio Gonzalez Ruiz would make a final run at Varela on December 23 to urge him to step back from his presidential aspirations. Well, on the night of December 23, MOLIRENA's National Executive Committee (CEN) voted (17-yes, 3-no, 3-abstain, 4-absent) to break its alliance with the Panamenista party and to enter into alliance with CD. STEPHENSON