Central America
Maribel Gordón, the leftist economist who aspires to the Executive of Panama with a feminist plan
The leftist Maribel Gordón, a professor and economist by profession, aspires to the Presidency of Panama in the elections of next May 5 with a government plan based on social proposals for a “dignified life”, being the only candidate with a plan focused on equality policies.
“That is our approach, which incorporates women in decision-making and my main proposal is a national budget with a gender perspective,” he said in an interview with EFE Gordón, an independent candidate and who is among the last places in all the polls, which he does not recognize and in which he borders on 2% of voting intention.
In the opinion of the candidate, the State approves “dead (and) empty laws” with a gender focus, because they do not have sufficient resources to put them into practice, they only serve to wash the international image, “without any responsibility or will to be executed.”
Gordón, 62 years old and popularly known as ‘La Profe’, is the only candidate with openly socialist ideas and supported by the feminist movement of the Central American country by having a public discourse against sexist violence and equality gaps.
She considered herself part of the feminist revolution from a very early age, when it was still officially chosen who represented the movement. “I joined a group of 14 women who carry out these flags because the gender inequality gaps in Panama are deep.”
He explained that in the country there are “low wages” for women because they are “placed in economic activities where the minimum wage predominates” because “the system does not generate decent employment for women.”
“We are also proposing an institutional policy that guarantees the elimination of violence against women (because) violence begins from the institutional with a State that does not protect and that thinks that if a woman or a teenager is raped is something common or private life,” he said.
The presidential candidate has a long history within the social movements in Panama. He jumped to the public spotlight in the protests against the increase in the price of life in 2021. The prices of gasoline and other commodities skyrocketed due to global inflation.
His interventions – as if he were teaching a university class – during a frustrated dialogue table between the Government and the demonstrations to seek a solution were popularly applauded, thus forging his candidacy with the participation in last year’s anti-mining protests, before which he maintains his resounding “no” to mining in the country.
This is the third time that Gordon tries to reach the spheres of the Executive Power. The previous two times –2014 and 2019 – she was a running mate with the leftist Frente Amplio por la Democracia (FAD). The political arm of the most powerful union in the country and the one that its spectacular failure in the last elections dissolved the party.
Gordón is related to the socio-political movements of the Latin American left. A reflection of this is his Government project baptized as the ‘plan for a dignified life’, which is based on “human well-being”, “real democracy”, the “rescue of identity” and a constitutional reform through the constituent route, one of the two options that the current Magna Carta allows.
“If the left is a failure, why are there economic sanctions against those left-wing countries? (…) (For) the fear of a system that effectively works without blockades (…), at least, on issues of national and social development,” says Gordón.
Thus, he proposes to create in Panama, a country “with its specific characteristics,” a project of “national and social development, that is of the Panamanians and Panamanians for the Panamanians” to which some “examples of other latitudes” can be incorporated.
He also defends that socialism, “that phase of transition between capitalism and communism” that adapts to every historical moment, has tried to “develop” in different ways, so the governments in China, Cuba and Venezuela as well as what “tried to do in Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, even today in Colombia and Uruguay” are not alike.
For the elections on May 5, just over 3 million Panamanians are called to the polls.
The main candidates are José Raúl Mulino, the running mate of the disabled former President Ricardo Martinelli, for the Realizing Goals (RM) and Alianza parties. Former President Martín Torrijos (2004-2009), for the Popular Party (PP) and Ricardo Lombana for the Otro Camino Movement.
Central America
Seven arrested in Guatemala over disappearance of six near Mexico border
Authorities in Guatemala arrested seven individuals allegedly linked to the disappearance of six Guatemalans, including a 16-year-old minor, according to a police statement.
The arrests took place in the border city of Malacatán, near the nearly 1,000-kilometer frontier shared with Mexico, a region increasingly affected by criminal activity.
Police reported that ten firearms were seized from the suspects, who are believed to be connected to the disappearance of the six victims. According to witness accounts, the missing individuals worked on a farm in Malacatán and were taken away in a vehicle whose license plate matches that of the one used by those detained.
The border area has seen escalating violence involving organized crime groups. In August 2024, following the unprecedented displacement of Mexican farmers into Guatemala to escape clashes between rival drug cartels, both countries agreed to carry out joint security operations along the shared border.
Despite this cooperation, tensions have arisen. On June 8, security forces from the Mexican state of Chiapas crossed into Guatemalan territory during an anti-crime operation that left four suspected criminals dead. The incident prompted a formal protest from Guatemala, after which Mexico issued an apology.
Central America
Gunfire and protests mark controversial rector reelection at Guatemala’s USAC
University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), which serves around 200,000 students, plays a key role in the selection of top judicial authorities in Guatemala, including positions within the prosecutor’s office and other institutions often questioned over corruption.
The reelection of the university’s rector on Wednesday was marred by gunfire and clashes outside the hotel where the vote took place in Antigua Guatemala, west of the capital. Authorities reported no injuries following the unrest.
The electoral process, which granted a new term to Walter Mazariegos, was criticized by the Organization of American States, which described it as a “flawed process.”
USAC holds significant influence in Guatemala’s institutional framework, as it appoints two magistrates to the Constitutional Court—the country’s highest judicial body—and participates in the selection of members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, both processes carried out earlier this year.
Videos shared by local media showed an individual firing a weapon into the air inside the hotel during the vote. Academic representatives and students gathered at the venue, while hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside, denouncing the exclusion of some delegates in what they claimed was an effort to favor Mazariegos.
The unrest escalated after alleged security personnel used fire extinguishers against police officers attempting to enter the hotel alongside a judge, who sought to verify reports that opposition voters were being held inside, according to local press reports.
“The election was illegitimate,” said Rodolfo Chang through a loudspeaker after being declared “legitimate rector” in a separate vote held outside the venue.
A day earlier, the Organization of American States had urged authorities to act to “prevent the completion of a flawed process.”
Central America
Honduras coffee exports jump nearly 30% in March despite price drop
Coffee exports from Honduras rose by 29.6% year-on-year in March, according to data released Monday by the Instituto Hondureño del Café.
During the third month of the 2025–2026 harvest season, Honduras exported 1,373,817 46-kilogram bags of coffee, up from 1,059,744 bags shipped in March of the previous cycle.
Despite the increase in volume, the average price per bag fell to $307.55, compared to $364.70 recorded in the prior harvest.
Between October and March, total export revenues reached $1.36 billion, representing a 32% increase from the $1.032 billion reported during the same period of the 2024–2025 season.
The United States remained the main destination for Honduran coffee, accounting for 36.5% of total shipments. It was followed by Germany with 16.1% and Belgium with 12.4%.
In regional terms, Europe absorbed 52% of exports, while North America accounted for 42%, according to the institute’s report.
Honduras remains the largest coffee producer in Central America and ranks among the top six producers worldwide.
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