Mireya Moscoso is our first female president, but not our first unmarried one.

But in Panama the Despacho de la Primera Dama (First Lady's Office) is a government agency with a budget and ceremonial functions, and nepotism is the Moscoso administration's stated policy. Thus the First Lady's office isn't a luxury to be foregone in a tight public budget squeeze, and the president's sister, Ruby Moscoso de Young, has her spot on the government payroll.

To a much greater extent than her predecessors, this First Lady likes to rub it in, for example with this 36-page glossy magazine insert in the daily newspapers. However, most of the publicity that Panama's government buys, at all levels, consists of politicians' self-praise. Most of the rest is criticism of the press or other politicians.