Balbina courts the Afro-Panamanian vote

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Balbina courts the black vote
photos by José F. Ponce

Panama does not vote by racial blocks to the extent that the United States traditionally has, but that doesn't mean that we don't have racism or that we don't have organizations promoting the concerns of various ethnic groups. As the polls right now suggest a close presidential election, and as the mixed race Balbina Herrera represents a possible break with a long line of presidents drawn from Panama's less than 10 percent white minority, one might expect a skilled politician of her caliber to court the Afro-Panamanian vote. And so she did at an event in the Paradise Banquet Hall on November 19.

Part of it was schmoozing and part of it was a cultural gathering. Part of it was Balbina outlining her programs and part of it was a number of black organizations and prominent individuals raising concerns, requests and demands.

Some of the things that the people in the crowd cited were symbolic, some were economic, and some were about simple inclusion at all levels of society. People at the meeting expressed their opposition to the employment practice of requiring a photograph attached to every job application, which in practice serves to screen out black applicants. They want to see the origins and roles of Panamanians of African extraction included in public school history classes. They want new governmental institutions to deal with the legacy of racial discrimination. They want jurisdiction over black-majority Puerto Obaldia transferred from the Kuna Yala comarca to Colon province. They want to see the government do more to address the urban poverty in which many Afro-Panamanians are mired. Balbina seemed receptive to these pleas.