Ruben Blades: Panama’s Elections & Martinelli’s Replacement

“The Court ruling is a mistake – Mulino should have been blocked from running. This ruling is the result of pressures that have nothing to do with democracy and the people,” declared musician and political activist Ruben Blades.

By EFE / 100% Noticias

HAVANA TIMES – Panamanian singer-songwriter and activist Ruben Blades had harsh words to say on May 3rd, following a High Court ruling that ratified the candidacy of Jose Raul Mulino as a last-minute substitute for former president Ricardo Martinelli, convicted of corruption. The Court decision came just days before Panama’s general election, scheduled for Sunday, May 5.

“The Court’s conclusion is a mistake. Mulino should have been blocked from running. This ruling is the result of pressures that have nothing to do with democracy and the people,” stated Blades, winner of multiple Grammys and Panama’s Tourism Minister from 2004 – 2009. His opinions were shared over social media.

Following a marathon session that began on April 30, with the presence of Panama’s full Supreme Court, presiding Magistrate Maria Eugenia Lopez announced the final ruling in the early morning of May 3. The High Court determined that the March 4 decision of the Electoral Tribunal “was not unconstitutional.”  That ruling designated Mulino, formerly Martinelli’s running mate, as his substitute. 

Ricardo Martinelli, president of Panama from 2009-2014, was the chosen candidate of the Realizando Metas [“Meeting goals”] Party. However, he was later sentenced to over 10 years in prison for money laundering, which made him ineligible to run. Since February, he has been in the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama, where he sought asylum to avoid the jail sentence.

Last March, the Court accepted an appeal of unconstitutionality filed against the Electoral Tribunal’s agreement. The High Court appeal argued that Mulino was running for the presidency without a vice presidential candidate, which violates several articles of the Panamanian Constitution. The case also argued that Mulino hadn’t been chosen in his Party’s primary elections. That Party had been founded by Martinelli, among others.

“The Supreme Court has chosen to endorse the aspirations of a man found guilty of corruption, a fugitive who has cloistered himself in the Nicaraguan Embassy, our ex-President Ricardo Martinelli. The argument of our highest judicial authority is that it aims to protect the sovereign will of the Panamanian people and defend democracy (…) This ruling should be seen as tragic by every decent citizen in Panama,” Blades commented.

Martinelli had been heading the few and highly questioned opinion polls available, but in terms of the chances of a Presidential victory for his chosen candidate, Blades was brusque: “I believe Mulino isn’t going to win.”

However: “If in a free election on May 5, our electorate chooses as their president and representative the front man for a man declared corrupt, then post a sign on our Republic saying: “Portable Country for Sale,” and we can let go of any pretense of being patriots,” the musician emphasized in his blog post.

“We’d be announcing internationally that we’re not [patriots], even though the majority of the electorate refused to vote for Mulino on May 5.”  [Only a simple majority is needed to win the election with no runoff vote.]

Blades is supporting the candidacy of the independent Vamos platform which is running candidates for the legislature and local elections but not for president. Beyond the percentage of votes candidate Mulino might obtain, he stressed: “to prefer as president the direct representative of a fugitive found guilty of corruption is to pronounce in favor of cheating as a way of life, and to publicly embrace corruption.” That  would leave the country as “a people who have self-condemned themselves, by not accepting the truth.”

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