What I don't get is if Martinelli was as popular as the polling gave him credit to be (80%), then why couldn't his Boy get elected? That polling was obviously incorrect.
Well, the Panamanian pollsters don't exactly have Nate Silver working for them.
I saw a joke on Twitter that won't be funny in translation but was funny at the time. It said that the two main polling firms Ipsos and Dichter were going to join forces and open an ice cream stand in the Multiplaza.
I think that most everyone in the country appreciates all of the things the outgoing administration did in the way of public works. In five short years the transportation infrastructure of Panama City has been completely reworked for the better. Hospitals were built in the interior, and schools. Unlike many or most (or all) of his predecessors Martinelli promised huge things and then went out and delivered them. That is a precedent that I would like to see kept.
On the other hand most everyone recognizes that he is a potentially dangerous authoritarian. The memory of the dictatorship is still quite fresh for a lot of people and when they see a guy stack the supreme court in an abusive manner, try to bully the Tribunal Electoral, try to fire his Vice President, insert his wife as the Vice Presidential candidate and basically run around acting like a lunatic, well, obviously people think twice.
Varela has a chance to be a remarkable figure in the history of the country. I hope he can build on the momentum while dialing back the political antagonism. I'd like to see him take the high road when dealing with some of his political enemies, at least initially. When Martinelli came into power he seized quite a bit of prominent land that was supposedly owned by some of his political enemies. That was good theater but likely at the end of the day bad government.
And I'm proud that the democracy functioned as it should and as it must. Now, as I said earlier, let's get back to making some money.
AI
