Panama's Power Brokers Control Budgets, Canal and Police

Panama’s president appoints ministers and provincial governors, oversees the country’s security services and shares power over the legislature and courts. President José Raúl Mulino leads the executive; Shirley Castañedas, elected president of the 71-seat National Assembly, commands a 42-vote majority. The machinery has many offices and rules. Its decisions still travel downward.

Who Holds the Levers

Panama is a presidential republic with no army, but the Ministry of Public Security oversees the National Police, migration, aeronaval and border services, and the 911 emergency system. Frank Ábrego leads the ministry. After the earthquake near Tonosí on Oct. 9, the ministry reported 11,143 officers deployed in affected areas on the fifth day, and SENAFRONT activated 300 more on Oct. 14.

The government declared a state of emergency on Oct. 10 and set aside US$100 million for response efforts. The earthquake damaged homes, schools and health facilities in several provinces. The United States pledged US$6 million in earthquake relief by Oct. 19. On Oct. 22, U.S. Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera handed SENAFRONT four buses and a field kitchen valued at about US$1.4 million.

The president and Assembly also shape institutions governing law and public money. The president appoints Supreme Court magistrates, subject to Assembly approval; the nine magistrates serve 10-year terms. The National Assembly and executive operate under five-year terms, and voters chose both in the May 5, 2024, election. Mulino won about 34% of valid ballots on the joint ticket of Realizando Metas and Alianza. Turnout reached 77.7%.

Castañedas won the Assembly presidency with 42 votes on July 1, 2026. Her majority includes Realizando Metas, Cambio Democrático, the Partido Revolucionario Democrático, a mixed bloc and independents. Opposition blocs Vamos and Seguimos backed Grace Hernández, who received 21 votes; eight Panameñista deputies abstained.

Budgets, Bills and the Cost Below

The Assembly’s budget debate hadn’t begun as of Oct. 26. Bill 644 sets 2027 spending at US$35.1 billion, but the Budget Commission closed its Oct. 22 session without starting the first debate after PRD and RM deputies skipped it. Its chair, Eduardo Vásquez of CD, ended the meeting. Castañedas called the commission back for Oct. 26.

Electoral reform bill 699, which would change rules for the 2029 elections, also stalled. Its second debate was suspended Oct. 19 amid a dispute over Electoral Tribunal magistrates. If lawmakers didn’t take it up before the ordinary period ended Oct. 31, debate would move to January 2027. Deputy Jorge Bloise called changes to the bill a step backward that weakens democracy. The scheduled reform remains in the hands of the same Assembly, whose budget and electoral debates haven’t moved forward.

Other decisions land directly on workers and retirees. In October, Labour Minister Jackeline Muñoz’s ministry ordered the accounts of port firm Serviestiba attached to protect workers after the company closed operations. A pension reform deadline on Aug. 18 required Social Security Fund workers to choose between the old and new systems. More than 550,000 of about 1.6 million active contributors hadn’t decided the previous day; CSS director Dino Mon said there would be no extensions.

The Public Ministry is investigating the purchase of 54,000 teacher laptops costing US$28.4 million, described as one of Lucy Molinar’s last acts as education minister. Ventura Vega took the oath on Aug. 13 after Molinar resigned Aug. 12.

Canal, Corporate Claims and Unanswered Choices

The Panama Canal Authority operates as an autonomous public body, with an annual budget outside the general state budget. Its 11-member board is appointed through a mix of presidential and legislative power. Ilya Espino de Marotta took office as administrator on Sept. 7, becoming the first woman to lead the canal. In the fiscal year ending September 2026, the canal handled 13,951 transits and recorded unaudited revenue of US$6.6 billion. A planned Río Indio reservoir would require resettling about 550 families.

The Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 29 that the contract for the Balboa and Cristóbal ports held by Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, was unconstitutional. CK Hutchison later disclosed an international arbitration claim of US$1.5 billion against Panama. At Cobre Panamá, a mine operated by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, operations have remained suspended since November 2023, when the Supreme Court declared the contract unconstitutional. A government commission delivered 17 recommendations but made no decision; its report proposed considering an agreement that would end pending arbitration cases and permit an orderly closure at no cost to the state. The Economy Ministry’s summary put arbitration claims at no less than US$27 billion, claims the state doesn’t recognize.

The account details official deployments, agency decisions, court rulings and corporate claims. It identifies no grassroots, self-organized response to the earthquake or these institutional disputes. No NGO or nonprofit relief organization appears by name. As of Oct. 26, no decision had been announced on Cobre Panamá, and the Assembly’s budget and electoral reform remained unresolved.