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Jose Raul Mulino’s candidacy was challenged in court on the basis that he had not participated in a primary vote or picked a running mate, as required by law – Copyright AFP Marvin RECINOS<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nJuan Jos\u00e9 Rodr\u00edguez<\/em><\/p>\nJose Raul Mulino left his farm and horses behind with his sights set on becoming Panama\u2019s vice president under his former boss, ex-head of state Ricardo Martinelli.<\/p>\n
Then, in March, Martinelli was disqualified from contesting the presidency \u2014 a month after he lost his final legal bid to avoid prison time for money laundering and took asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy.<\/p>\n
Mulino, 64, stepped into his shoes and rode his mentor\u2019s popularity to the finish line \u2014 winning elections Sunday with more than a third of votes cast in the single-round, first-past-the-post national election.<\/p>\n
His mere participation, however, was touch and go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mulino\u2019s candidacy was challenged in court on the basis that he had not participated in a primary vote or picked a running mate, as required by law.<\/p>\n
The Central American country\u2019s Supreme Court finally approved his run just two days before election day \u2014 swayed, it said, by the right of Panamanians \u201cto elect and be elected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Martinelli \u2014 who was president from 2009 to 2014 \u2014 Mulino had served as justice minister and public security minister.<\/p>\n
He had been held in preventive detention for alleged corruption in 2015-2016, but was released due to procedural errors.<\/p>\n
He claimed to have been a \u201cpolitical prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Closing the Darien Gap \u2013<\/p>\n
Mulino replaced his erstwhile boss as the candidate of the right-wing Realizing Goals party using the slogan: \u201cMulino is Martinelli.\u201d<\/p>\n
A recent poll showed most Panamanians believe that with Mulino in charge, it will actually be Martinelli calling the shots from behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Mulino has dismissed the criminal conviction of his former boss as politically motivated, and will now be in a position to pardon him.<\/p>\n
On the campaign trail, Mulino had promised to close the dangerous migration route through the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama.<\/p>\n
More than half a million undocumented migrants passed through the so-called Darien Gap last year \u2014 while being subjected to abuses criticized by rights groups.<\/p>\n
Mulino\u2019s other pledges included building a railroad from the capital to his native Chiriqui region near the border with Costa Rica, and to reform the country\u2019s battered pension system.<\/p>\n
He would also build a pet hospital to be called \u201cBruno,\u201d after Martinelli\u2019s beloved dog, which accompanied him into asylum.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Scum\u2019 protesters \u2013<\/p>\n
Mulino\u00a0is a maritime law expert by training.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, he was part of the so-called Civic Crusade, a movement against military dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega who was unseated when the United States invaded the country in 1989.<\/p>\n
After the invasion, Mulino served briefly as foreign minister in the democratically-elected government of president Guillermo Endara.<\/p>\n
Mulino is described as confrontational and is said to have an authoritarian leadership style.<\/p>\n
As security minister, he once called protesters who disrupted traffic \u201cscum.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not take part in any presidential debate, confident that Martinelli\u2019s lasting appeal with voters would carry him over the finish line.<\/p>\n
Many Panamanians credit Martinelli with an economic heyday fueled by an infrastructure boom that included the enlargement of the Panama Canal and construction of Central America\u2019s first metro line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vote for Martinelli is why I\u2019m here,\u201d Mulino said recently.<\/p>\n
The president-elect is married to pet store owner Maricel Cohen.<\/p>\n
He describes his passion as spending time on the farm his wife gave him when he turned 50, among the chickens, rabbits and other animals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Panama’s president-elect Mulino, from the farm to the hot seat
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#Panamas #presidentelect #Mulino #farm #hot #seat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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