Panama
Panama performs at the high range in Representation and in the mid-range in Rights, Rule of Law and Participation. It is among the top 25 per cent of countries regarding several factors of all four categories. Compared to 2018, it has maintained steady performance, only declining in Economic Equality. Panama is an upper-middle income country with an economy centered around the services sector, which includes the Panama Canal and financial services.
Panama gained its independence from Spain in 1821 and seceded from Colombia in 1903. Politics are largely driven by unrest about corruption and related concerns about poverty and inequality. The economy has been particularly vulnerable to external shocks in recent years, leading to inflation, growing unemployment, and skyrocketing fuel prices. This pushed Panamanians to a boiling point, starkly illustrated through a 2022 protest that blocked the Pan-American Highway, in which protesters called for price caps on food and increased government spending on education. Corruption is a significant problem in Panama: it is estimated that the country loses about one per cent of its GDP to corruption each year. Further, changes in 2021 and 2023 to the electoral code have been criticized for being adopted without sufficient transparency, for favoring larger political parties, and in the case of the latter reform, for changing electoral rules within less than a year of general elections. Between 1989 and 2004, the center-left Revolutionary Democratic Party and the nationalist Panameñista Party were the main players in the country’s politics. The 2009 election of the Democratic Change candidate shifted Panamanian politics from a two-party system to wider competition. Division within the latter led to the creation of the current ruling party, the conservative Realizing Goals (Realizando Metas).
The majority of Panama’s population is Mestizo, with Indigenous, Black and Mulatto minorities. Indigenous peoples make up roughly 17.2 per cent of the population and have a significant degree of autonomy, with six self-governed comarcas in the country. Remote Indigenous communities, however, often lack access to basic services, and large-scale development projects encroach on indigenous land without consent. Indigenous and rural communities are particularly affected by extraction activities on the environment, an increasingly salient issue, as evidenced in the 2023 mass protests against a controversial mining contract, which was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court. Afro-Panamanians, who make up around 30 per cent of the population, face disproportionate levels of unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination in practice. In the past years, migration has become a social cleavage, as Panama is used as a transit route. In 2023, a record number (over half a million) of irregular migrants entered the country through the Darien Gap, an increasingly dangerous route, testing the government’s preparedness to meet the demand for services and ensure migrants’ safety .
Despite having a legal framework that promotes and monitors gender equality, the Covid-19 pandemic exposed gender-based vulnerabilities, including a rise in domestic violence and femicide during this period. Women’s political participation and representation remain a challenge. Although the electoral code requires parity in nomination of candidacies, normative flaws allow for parties to bypass this obligation. In the May 2024 elections, only 19 per cent of candidacies were held by women.
In the coming years, the recently elected government’s efforts to strengthen the rule of law and tackle corruption will be key in order to address one of citizens’ most pressing demands. It will also be important to watch Panama’s measures to improve Economic Equality, as challenges to alleviate poverty, particularly for Indigenous peoples, Afro-Panamanians, children and adolescents, remain.
Last Updated: June 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
March 2025
Shelters in Darien region to be closed, migration control to tighten
President José Raúl Mulino has announced the gradual closure of the Bajo Chiquito and Canal Membrillo migrant shelters in the Darien region. According to the government, the facilities will no longer be needed, given the rapid and substantial decrease in the flow of migrants traveling from South America to the United States. Migrants arriving to those shelters received aid and medical attention from Panamanian institutions and NGOs. During his campaign and upon his election last year, Mulino promised to introduce stricter migration controls and ‘close’ the Darien Gap; now, those attempting to enter from the Darien after the shelters close will be deported. Although the number of people entering Panama from Colombia is decreasing, the number of migrants making the journey back south from the U.S. is increasing. Notably, Costa Rica and Panama agreed in February to coordinate assistance to returning migrants through means such as bussing, but the closure of the shelters in the Darien will negatively impact people in transit.
Sources: La Estrella de Panamá, AP, France 24, Panamá América, Telemundo
October 2024
President launches new security strategy
On 10 October, President José Raúl Mulino announced his government’s strategy to combat gang activity. Known as operation Panama 3.0, the strategy aims to eradicate gang violence and crime by strengthening the national police with the incorporation of 1,032 additional agents, as well as through patrolling, checkpoints and community outreach. The strategy will be implemented in regions particularly affected by violence, including Colón, Panama West and San Miguelito. The strategy comes weeks after Mulino announced the implementation of regional curfews for minors, which have now been extended and will continue to be assessed periodically. According to government officials, by late October the rate of certain crimes considered of high impact had reduced by 71 per cent; over 2,900 people had been detained and illicit drugs, vehicles and cash had been seized and secured.
Sources: Presidencia Panamá, International IDEA, Telemetro, Prensa Latina, En Segundos
September 2024
Measures announced to contain increase in crime and gang activity
President José Raúl Mulino announced the implementation of temporary regional curfews for minors and enhanced security in response to an increase in gang activity and organized crime. The nighttime curfews were established in the regions of Colón and San Miguelito, followed by one in Bocas del Toro. President Mulino has expressed that the measure would be assessed periodically and, if necessary, further measures, including curfews for people over 18 years old, would be implemented. He also announced that the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN) would take over security tasks in all airports and would increase its presence in coastal areas through patrolling. By early October, Mulino stated that in Colón and San Miguelito the curfews had resulted in a five per cent reduction of crime, however the long-term impact of the strategy is yet to be seen.
Sources: Presidencia Panamá (1), Presidencia Panamá (2), La Prensa Panama, Telemetro
May 2024
José Raúl Mulino is elected President
On 5 May, Panama held elections to choose its president, members of the National Assembly, members of the Central American Parliament, mayors and other local leaders. José Raúl Mulino was elected president with the support of 34.3 per cent of voters, nearly ten percentage points ahead of second place Ricardo Lombana. Former president Martin Torrijos came in third place, while the ruling Revolutionary Democratic party (Partido Revolucionario Democrático) candidate only attained around 5.8 per cent of votes. Mulino entered the race as the candidate for the Achieving Goals (Realizando Metas) opposition party after the original candidate, former President Martinelli, was deemed ineligible for having been convicted for money laundering. Just days before the election, the Supreme Court confirmed that Mulino could run for president, denying a challenge to his eligibility for not having participated in his party’s primary process.
In Congress, independent candidates earned enough seats to become the largest group in the Legislature. According to preliminary results, 15 women were elected to the National Assembly out of 71 members (one less than in the previous legislature). Voting is mandatory but not enforced in Panama, and electoral participation was around 78 per cent (up five percentage points compared to 2019).
Sources: El Pais, Organization of American States, EFE, The Guardian
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