Varela's past before the presidential function

Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez is the 49th current President of Panama, as a member of the political party PP (Partido Panameñista / Panamanian Party). He was born on December 12, 1963 in the capital Panama City. He scored first successes in his career in the private sector, where he led the Panamanian company with over 100 years of tradition – Varela Hermanos, S.A. – which produced thousands of jobs in the country. Varela supported projects aimed at the development of culture, sports, education, folklore, traditions and the environment. His most important position before he took over the presidential office was the function of the Vice President of Panama from July 1, 2009 to July 1, 2014 as well as the Foreign Minister from July 1, 2009 to August 2011, when the then President Ricardo Martinelli got rid him of this function. On March 17, 2013 Varela officially announced his candidacy for the President and on August 25, 2013 he has been declared as a presidential candidate of the alliance called El Pueblo Primero (People First) composed of the Partido Popular and his Partido Panameñista, which leads since 2006. Against him was a coalition of parties known as Unidos Por Más Cambios (United for More Change), led by CD.

The public and political critics supposed that Varela, if elected, will have a real chance to raise the prestige of Panama in international forum and in case of avoiding corruption scandals or political incidents can prepare the way for his candidate from the PP for the next presidential elections held in 2019. Varela had a fundamental and huge advantage in comparison with his opponents during a battle for the presidential chair, which was his acting as the Vice President of Panama throughout the previous parliamentary term and before that several years as the Foreign Minister of Panama.

These two functions made him more visible in public awareness, he constantly used to appear on television, newspapers and Internet media and he has been having a real benefit and impact on the Panamanian population, as well as the position of Panama in an international environment abroad. Not only he has been gaining prestige over the years, and has been quietly preparing for his presidential campaign in the years 2013/2014, but principally through the aforementioned two functions has been obtaining the necessary experiences and skills in the political, diplomatic and social environment that now help him very well while being the President of the country.

Development of the presidential elections

Presidential elections in 2014 were exceptional for the country, because Panama was the first country in Latin America where its citizens from abroad could vote in elections via Internet, taking the example of France and the other developed European countries. The elections themselves were held on Sunday, on May 4, 2014, when Varela with almost 40% of the votes defeats his opponents, takes the oath and takes up the Presidency from July 1, 2014. After elections in 2014, Panama's Vice President became Isabel de Saint Malo Alvarado as historically the first woman in the history of Panama elected to this position, whom Varela simultaneously appointed to the position of the Foreign Minister of Panama. Panama has thus become one of the Latin American and world countries, where one of the key high-level governmental functions belongs to a woman.

Before Panama voted and chose Varela as its President, there has been a challenging political batlle of several candidates aspiring for the President, so lets make a recap step by step. Seven candidates decided to candidate in the presidential elections of 2014, three of whom had decisive word in advance and the public already knew that one of them will eventually make it to a successful conclusion. The other four candidates were there as they were only a number, maybe to achieve splitting the votes of the electorate. The first of the main candidates was the current President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez as a member of the political party PP (Partido Panameñista / Panamanian Party). The second one was Juan Carlos Navarro as the current leader of the PRD (Partido Revolucionario Democrático / Democratic Revolutionary Party) and defeated presidential candidate in 2009, the third one was José Domingo Arias as the leader of the CD (Cambio Democrático / Democratic Change) and former Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade. Navarro already had experience with the pre-election battle of past elections, while both Arias and Varela were new in the process.

Varela obviously did not enter this election campaign as a political beginner, since he has been serving as the Vice President, previously as the Foreign Minister and he was involved enough in the political, social and business life. His electorate thus did not vote for a cat in a bag, but they know what to expect from him in case he is elected. His election campaign was primarily based on four important areas: reducing the cost of living, building a safe neighbourhood for residents, making water accessible to all residents and, of course, last but not least, eliminating corruption and clientelism, as all candidates. During one of his speeches during the presidential campaign he made the following statement: „We will implement deep inspection of all expenditures and actions of the government, to let all the experts and professionals of the working class of our country know how their money from their taxes are spent. And all those who have taken what belongs to our citizens, they will have to return it.“ Such and even more accurate identification of issues associated with clear solutions of such problems lifted Varela's electorate.

Leading any political campaign in Latin American countries is vastly different from what we Europeans are used to see. Elections wins charisma of the candidate, his identification with population, pre-election populist promises associated with the most serious problems in the country, traveling of the candidate across the country and meeting with ordinary citizens, his participation in all cultural events such as festivals and carnivals, and last but not least, strong slogans and mottos that can pull down a voter right on his side and can get not only his vote, but also his heart. Latin American people see their leaders not only as statesmen who lead their countries, but they also see them as the gods, icons and life models, without whom they could not exist. It is determined because of different culture, human values and historical development of the respective countries.