Central America
Maribel Gordón, the leftist economist who aspires to the Executive of Panama with a feminist plan
The leftist Maribel Gordón, a professor and economist by profession, aspires to the Presidency of Panama in the elections of next May 5 with a government plan based on social proposals for a “dignified life”, being the only candidate with a plan focused on equality policies.
“That is our approach, which incorporates women in decision-making and my main proposal is a national budget with a gender perspective,” he said in an interview with EFE Gordón, an independent candidate and who is among the last places in all the polls, which he does not recognize and in which he borders on 2% of voting intention.
In the opinion of the candidate, the State approves “dead (and) empty laws” with a gender focus, because they do not have sufficient resources to put them into practice, they only serve to wash the international image, “without any responsibility or will to be executed.”
Gordón, 62 years old and popularly known as ‘La Profe’, is the only candidate with openly socialist ideas and supported by the feminist movement of the Central American country by having a public discourse against sexist violence and equality gaps.
She considered herself part of the feminist revolution from a very early age, when it was still officially chosen who represented the movement. “I joined a group of 14 women who carry out these flags because the gender inequality gaps in Panama are deep.”
He explained that in the country there are “low wages” for women because they are “placed in economic activities where the minimum wage predominates” because “the system does not generate decent employment for women.”
“We are also proposing an institutional policy that guarantees the elimination of violence against women (because) violence begins from the institutional with a State that does not protect and that thinks that if a woman or a teenager is raped is something common or private life,” he said.
The presidential candidate has a long history within the social movements in Panama. He jumped to the public spotlight in the protests against the increase in the price of life in 2021. The prices of gasoline and other commodities skyrocketed due to global inflation.
His interventions – as if he were teaching a university class – during a frustrated dialogue table between the Government and the demonstrations to seek a solution were popularly applauded, thus forging his candidacy with the participation in last year’s anti-mining protests, before which he maintains his resounding “no” to mining in the country.
This is the third time that Gordon tries to reach the spheres of the Executive Power. The previous two times –2014 and 2019 – she was a running mate with the leftist Frente Amplio por la Democracia (FAD). The political arm of the most powerful union in the country and the one that its spectacular failure in the last elections dissolved the party.
Gordón is related to the socio-political movements of the Latin American left. A reflection of this is his Government project baptized as the ‘plan for a dignified life’, which is based on “human well-being”, “real democracy”, the “rescue of identity” and a constitutional reform through the constituent route, one of the two options that the current Magna Carta allows.
“If the left is a failure, why are there economic sanctions against those left-wing countries? (…) (For) the fear of a system that effectively works without blockades (…), at least, on issues of national and social development,” says Gordón.
Thus, he proposes to create in Panama, a country “with its specific characteristics,” a project of “national and social development, that is of the Panamanians and Panamanians for the Panamanians” to which some “examples of other latitudes” can be incorporated.
He also defends that socialism, “that phase of transition between capitalism and communism” that adapts to every historical moment, has tried to “develop” in different ways, so the governments in China, Cuba and Venezuela as well as what “tried to do in Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, even today in Colombia and Uruguay” are not alike.
For the elections on May 5, just over 3 million Panamanians are called to the polls.
The main candidates are José Raúl Mulino, the running mate of the disabled former President Ricardo Martinelli, for the Realizing Goals (RM) and Alianza parties. Former President Martín Torrijos (2004-2009), for the Popular Party (PP) and Ricardo Lombana for the Otro Camino Movement.
Central America
OAS urges swift recount in Honduras as election results remain uncertain
The Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission in Honduras reported findings of a “lack of expertise” and “delays” in the vote-counting process, but stated that it found no indications that would cast doubt on the results of the November 30 general elections, according to a report presented to the organization’s Permanent Council.
The delay by electoral authorities in releasing the final results “is not justifiable,” said former Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga while reading the report.
Honduras marked two weeks on Monday without knowing who its next president will be, following elections in which conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, holds a lead of less than two percentage points over fellow right-wing contender Salvador Nasralla.
Accusations of fraud have dominated Honduras’ political landscape since polls closed on the last Sunday of November.
In addition to Nasralla’s complaints, the current government led by leftist President Xiomara Castro has described Trump’s support for Asfura as an “electoral coup.”
The U.S. president has warned of “serious consequences” if the current results were to change and strip Asfura, a 67-year-old businessman, of his lead.
Although more than 99 percent of the votes have been counted, nearly 2,800 tally sheets contain “inconsistencies” and must be reviewed through a special recount, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said.
“The Mission urgently calls on the electoral authorities to immediately begin the special recount and to pursue all possible avenues to obtain official results as quickly as possible. The current delay in processing and publishing the results is not justifiable,” the head of the OAS mission told members of the organization.
Central America
Panama seizes over three tons of drugs hidden in Caribbean port container
Panama’s National Air and Naval Service (Senan) reported on Sunday the seizure of more than three metric tons of drugs that were concealed inside a shipping container at a port terminal on the country’s Caribbean coast.
According to a statement posted on X, Panamanian aeronaval authorities confirmed the confiscation of 3,205 packages of a suspected illicit substance hidden inside a container in transit through Panama, at a port facility in the Caribbean province of Colón. Each package typically weighs approximately one kilogram.
Earlier this week, Senan agents also seized an additional 2.2 metric tons of drugs and arrested five individuals, including a Colombian national, in separate operations linked to drug trafficking activities.
Panama serves as a major transit route for drugs produced in South America and destined mainly for the United States — the world’s largest consumer of cocaine — and Europe. According to official figures, Panamanian authorities seized approximately 80 metric tons of illicit substances in 2024.
Central America
Honduras election crisis deepens as CNE president denounces intimidation attempts
Tegucigalpa remains engulfed in a deep post-electoral crisis, marked by the absence of final results from the general elections held on November 30. On Thursday, the presiding counselor of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Ana Paola Hall, publicly denounced acts of intimidation that she warned could jeopardize the final phase of the process.
Following a meeting with the G-16+ diplomatic corps, Hall expressed concern over two specific incidents: a call by former president Manuel Zelaya summoning supporters of the Libre Party to gather outside the INFOP facilities—where electoral records and materials are being safeguarded—and a statement issued by the Permanent Commission of Congress accusing her and counselor Cossette López of alleged electoral crimes, an action she described as “baseless and outside their jurisdiction.”
Hall reaffirmed her institutional commitment and warned that she will not allow interference in the announcement of the results. “Honduras comes first,” she emphasized, underscoring her intention to defend the electoral process as a cornerstone of democracy.
Meanwhile, the preliminary results place Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, candidate of the National Party, in the lead with 40.52%of the vote, followed closely by Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, with 39.48%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada of Libre, is in third place with 19.29%. Around 0.6% of the tally sheets—many of them showing inconsistencies—have yet to be reviewed.
The Organization of American States (OAS) called an extraordinary session of its Permanent Council to analyze the situation, while civil organizations and governments such as Paraguay’s urged respect for the popular will.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro accused the United States, and specifically former president Donald Trump, of obstructing the process, while also denouncing threats from gangs against voters aligned with her party.
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