Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Politics

Panama Votes for President as the Biggest Boom in the Americas Ends

  • Corruption scandals have hurt support for ruling party
  • Shine has come off booming economy that often outpaced China
Laurentino Cortizo waves at supporters during a campaign rally in Arraijan, near Panama City, on April 14, 2019.

Laurentino Cortizo waves at supporters during a campaign rally in Arraijan, near Panama City, on April 14, 2019.

Photographer: Luis Acosta/AFP

A Texas-educated business leader is the front-runner to become Panama’s next president, as voters look set to punish the ruling party for corruption scandals and the weakest economy in a decade.

Laurentino Cortizo, 66, leads polls ahead of a May 5 general election and pledges to clean up government and revitalize what was, until recently, the top performing economy in the Americas. Cortizo is from the center-left Revolutionary Democratic Party.