| Martín Torrijos | |
|---|---|
| President of Panama | |
| In office September 1, 2004 – July 1, 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Samuel Lewis Navarro Rubén Arosemena |
| Preceded by | Mireya Moscoso |
| Succeeded by | Ricardo Martinelli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 18, 1963 Chitré, Panama |
| Political party | Democratic Revolutionary Party |
| Spouse(s) | Vivian Fernández |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino (Spanish pronunciation: [marˈtin toˈrixos]; born July 18, 1963, in Chitré, Herrera) is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.
Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004. As the candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)– running as the Patria Nueva alliance, with the support of the smaller People's Party (PP)– Torrijos won the presidential election with about 47% of the vote, defeating three rivals. His closest challenger, former President Guillermo Endara of the Solidarity Party, conceded defeat after finishing 17 percentage points behind Torrijos.
The result had been widely expected: prior to the vote, Torrijos was well ahead of his three competitors in the opinion polls. He took office on September 1, 2004.
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Martín Torrijos is the son of Omar Torrijos, who was Panama's social reformer and military strongman from 1968 to 1981. The younger Torrijos studied political science and economics at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States. He is a graduate of St. John's Northwestern Military Academy located in Delafield, Wisconsin. During the presidency of Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994–1999) he served as deputy minister for the interior and justice. His most significant achievement as deputy minister was to sign into law the complete privatization of Panama's water utilities. When the new law proved unpopular the PRD effected a reversion to the previous system. During his term in office the rate of armed robberies and assault increased. There were several reported cases where SUNTRACS, a workers union, was angered, causing several riots which involved rock flinging.
Torrijos ran as the PRD's candidate in the 1999 Panamanian presidential election, finishing in second place after Mireya Moscoso of the Arnulfista Party, whose husband had been deposed by Omar Torrijos in a 1968 coup d'état. Mireya Moscoso's government ended with an approval rate of about 15%, mostly because of corruption scandals and incompetence, on which Torrijos capitalized successfully with a campaign that had three major slogans: less corruption, create more jobs and improve security.
His administration has focused on specific tasks, including fiscal reforms and social security reforms (now completed) and, as announced on April 27, 2006, the Panama Canal expansion project that was approved in a national referendum on October 22, 2006, in accordance with Constitution.
In November 2006, Torrijos sponsored the Latin American and Caribbean Congress in Solidarity with Puerto Rico’s Independence in favor of Puerto Rico's independence and made an energetic call to the United States to recognise the independence of Puerto Rico.[1]
In late April 2008, he met with Raúl Castro in Cuba to talk about signing an energy bill. He expressed interest in doing so.[2]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mireya Moscoso |
President of Panama 2004–2009 |
Succeeded by Ricardo Martinelli |