The 51-year-old lawyer and Mayor of Panama, José Isabel Blandón took one step closer on his well-crafted path to the presidency of Panama on Sunday, October 28 when he obtained the ruling Panamenista Party endorsement as its candidate for the May 2019 election.

He obtained 56.7% of the votes, against former Housing Minister  Mario Etchelecu and 49% of the 368,428  party members turned out to vote.

If elected he will become the first president to have served as a parliamentary deputy and mayor  of Panama which gives weight to his  pronouncement : “I know the monster inside”   followed by the more predictable promise “It has to be  replaced” …by a much better, efficient and transparent system to eliminate clientelism and corruption,

During a fiery acceptance speech, he told chanting supporters that in his first week as president he will “call for a referendum so that the people can decide whether they want a constituent assembly or not," an idea he had espoused during the 45-day  internal campaign.

He also said he was in favor "of changing the manner of appointing Supreme Court Judges of depriving the Executive of powers and strengthening local governments."

The decentralization helped burnish of Mayor Blandon’s go-getting image as it helped fund many of his more ambitious proposals for the city.

Blandon’s nomination completes the rival party primaries putting five candidates into the field to be joined in January by three independents decided by those that get the most signed up supporters.