International
Rómulo Roux, the presidential candidate who promises a Constituent Assembly to refound Panama
Rómulo Roux, leader and presidential candidate of the opposition Democratic Change (CD) party of Panama and who came second in the 2019 elections, is considered a politician who does not live off the system.
This gives it the power to carry out its main objective: a new Magna Carta that refounded Panama and frees it from corruption.
“I’m not a professional politician, I don’t live off the system, I don’t live on my donors, and that gives me the freedom to make the decisions that the country requires them to be made,” such as changing the Constitution through a constituent assembly,” the lawyer and doctor of law said in an interview with EFE.
Roux, standard-bearer of the traditional CD and Panameñista Party (PPa) and third in the most recent survey published by the newspaper La Prensa, tries again to reach the presidency of Panama with a series of basic columns, including economics, education and the reform of public institutions.
Winning, apart from “punctual” proposals such as creating 500,000 jobs and tripling, up to five million, the number of annual visitors to the country, he intends to leave the change of the 1972 Constitution as one of its “legacys”.
This new legal framework is needed, among others, “to eliminate the number of deputies (71), lower it to no more than 51 deputies and that they cannot raise their own budget when they feel like it, that they cannot take the Executive hostage.”
“Yes (refound), give the country a structure and a new legal framework that eliminates a system that today is made to shield the thugs, to shield corruption, to shield impunity. That system has already collapsed,” said Roux, born in Panama in 1965.
He admitted, however, that cases of corruption such as Odebrecht’s have been of people within the traditional political parties “who have done things wrong.”
But between fleeing “as others have done, one can choose to reform the party, ensure that it operates as it has to operate and that it does things right.”
“Those who want the usual path, the path of politicking, clientelism, malantry, I don’t even want them here,” he remarked.
Roux is fighting for the presidency for the period of 2024-2029 with former president Martín Torrijos (2004-2009) for the Popular Party (PP); the current vice president José Gabriel Carrizo for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and the Molirena; and Ricardo Lombana for the Movimiento Otro Camino (Moca) party.
His opponents are also former Minister José Raúl Mulino for the Realizing Goals (RM) collective and the Alianza Party (PA) instead of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) – politically disqualified after being convicted of money laundering – and the candidates for the free application Melitón Arrocha, Maribel Gordón and Zulay Rodríguez.
Closely defeated in the 2019 elections by Laurentino Cortizo, Roux recalls that he always said that he “had doubt whether the official result reflected the will of voters at the national level in number of votes in different popular election positions.”
Even so, he now considers that the electoral system at that time “was what it was, and we decided to move forward for five more years, fight and be this May 5 again, to win the presidency.”
In that way, whoever was head of Foreign Affairs and minister for Channel Affairs with Martinelli’s government (2009-2014) points out that nothing distracts him, not even those who talk about his ‘American nationality’, something he denies and assures is a “dirty” campaign that comes from the disabled former president and Mulino, who leads the most recent survey with 29%.
“Why is it me who is attacked the most, if he says that they are flying in the polls? That they attack other candidates. Do they have an ass (fear)?” he said.
Roux, who claims to have his “own polls” and find out what happens while touring the country, affirms that he is not worried about his rivals either, but that it is important is that the Supreme Court of Justice “decide quickly” on the complaint of unconstitutionality against Mulino’s candidacy, “not to remove candidates, but to eliminate uncertainty.”
The lawsuit was filed on March 4 by a lawyer considering that, after the Electoral Tribunal disqualified Martinelli, Mulino’s candidacy is not valid because she was not subjected to primaries and also violates constitutional articles on the election of the president and the vice president of the country.
Among the issues that have marked the debate in the electoral campaign is that of the Cobre Panama mine, of the Canadian First Quantum Minerals (FQM) and disabled by a court ruling last November after massive protests against mining activity.
The issue has persecuted Roux for his relationship with one of the law firms involved in the signing of the first contract of the mining concession, but he responded without hesitation to EFE’s question about the fact that, in case of winning the presidency, things vary and the mine stays to continue operating.
“No, the mine is leaving. The mine is leaving because there is already a ruling from the Court and the people spoke,” he said, but that it must be “closed in an orderly manner and that it does not cost the country anything. Always close it, taking care of the environment.”
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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