Early Panama Election
Favourite Has Anti-U.S.
Past
A leftist with an anti-U.S.
past is the early
front-runner for next
year's presidential
election in Panama.
Labeled a friend of the
poor by supporters but a
populist firebrand by
opponents, Balbina
Herrera enjoyed high
ratings as housing
minister in Panama's
center-left government.
She recently stepped
down to run for
president and is leading
opinion polls for the
May, 2009 vote.
The latest survey by
polling firm CID-Gallup
put Herrera 6 points
ahead of her closest
rival, Panama City Mayor
Juan Carlos Navarro, who
she will run against for
the nomination of the
ruling Revolutionary
Democratic Party, or PRD,
in August.
The PRD dominates
Panama's politics and
its candidate is
expected to win the
election.
Herrera, 53, was linked
to former military
strongman Gen. Manuel
Noriega, who has said he
hid in her house from
U.S. soldiers who
invaded Panama and
overthrew him in 1989.
She also played a key
role in heated
anti-American street
protests during a visit
to Panama by former
President George H. W.
Bush following the U.S.
invasion. But she denies
once being an ally of
Noriega, now in a
Florida jail.
On the campaign trail,
Herrera has promised to
improve education and
better the lot of the
poor.
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