Wall Street Journal (May 7)
“Good political news is scarce in Latin America these days, so it’s worth noting the upset victory on Sunday by Vice President Juan Carlos Varela in Panama’s presidential election.” This anti-corruption underdog prevailed against the former mayor of Panama City, the incumbent’s hand-picked successor who had already made moves to subvert the constitution. “The real victor is Panama’s young democracy.”
Tags: Anti-corruption, Constitution, Democracy, Incumbent, Juan Carlos Varela, Latin America, Panama, Politics, Presidential election, Underdog, Upset, Victory
Washington Post (June 6)
Japan is not the only place where lawmakers find agreement elusive. In the U.S. “partisan deadlock over trade policy continues. If anything, it’s getting worse.” The current stumbling blocks are trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. “What’s especially maddening about all of this is that most Republicans and Democrats claim to agree on the benefits of the trade pacts,” yet there’s no clear sign that the parties will find common ground to break the impasse. “Determining the merits of this increasingly self-referential quarrel between the two parties would take 100 marriage counselors 100 years.”
Tags: Colombia, Democrats, Panama, Republicans, South Korea, Trade pacts, U.S.
