BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — Conservative supermarket magnate Ricardo Martinelli coasted to victory in Panama's presidential election Sunday, bucking the Latin American trend of recent years that has seen leftists take power.
Panama's electoral tribunal declared Martinelli the victor after counting 43% of the vote Sunday evening, saying he had an insurmountable lead: 61% to 36% over Balbina Herrera, a former housing minister and ruling party candidate. Herrera's campaign suffered from a worsening economy, rising crime and disenchantment with President Martin Torrijos.
"Starting on July 1, a change is coming to Panama," Martinelli told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Panama City.
Promising to make radical improvements in education, transportation and public security, he appealed for unity. "We will govern with the best in Panama," he said.
Although Democratic Change party candidate Martinelli is a conservative who attended the U.S. Republican National Convention in Minnesota last summer as an observer, his campaign borrowed a page from Barack Obama's playbook. He promised to redirect Panama's government and used slogans saying he was the agent of "real change."
Martinelli vowed to be tough on crime, which polls indicate is a major concern among Panamanians. Violence has risen as Panama has become an important way station for drugs en route to the United States. Cocaine consumption within Panama also has increased.
The win by Martinelli, the U.S.-educated owner of the Super 99 market chain, went counter to victories in recent years by leftist candidates in neighboring Central American countries El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and elsewhere in the hemisphere.
The trend reflects growing anti-U.S. sentiment and disenchantment with free trade and open markets -- the so-called Washington consensus.
Both Martinelli, 57, and Herrera, 54, supported Panama's proposed free trade agreement with the United States, which was negotiated during the Bush administration but is stalled in the U.S. Congress. President Obama has signaled his support for the deal.
A major stumbling block to congressional approval was removed when Pedro Miguel Gonzalez, who is wanted in the United States in connection with the 1992 slaying of a U.S. serviceman, stepped down last year as president of Panama's National Assembly.
