Founding and early history
The party is the oldest continuously operating party in Panama. It was founded in 1931 by Harmodio Arias, a prominent newspaper publisher, and Ezequiel Fernández as the National Revolutionary Party. Its membership largely came from Patriotic Communal Action, a nationalist organization that led a coup in early 1931 to protest the large amount of American influence in Panama. Fernández was the party's first president. The party first gained a measure of power in the 1936 elections, when Fernández became second vice-president in Juan Demóstenes Arosemena's administration. Arosemena died in office in 1939. As First Vice-president Augusto Samuel Boyd was also serving as Panama's ambassador to the United States, Fernández became acting president for three days until Boyd returned from Washington. By 1939, the party had been taken over by Harmodio Arias' younger brother, Arnulfo, who would be its face for the next half-century. In the early 1930s, he had begun promoting a nationalist doctrine called "Panameñismo" (Panamanianism), and this became the basis for the party. Arnulfo Arias, Manuel Solís Palma and Alcibíades Arosemena founded the Authentic Revolutionary Party () on 28 November 1947 (dissolved in 1951). It was described as a big tent centrist party (withOpposition to Noriega
Arnulfo Arias would have been the party's candidate for president in 1989, but he died in 1988. He was succeeded as party leader by his widow, Mireya Moscoso. For the 1989 elections, the party was the main component of an anti-Noriega coalition, with the PPA'sPostwar
The government of Guillermo Endara designated the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion a "national day of reflection." On that day, hundreds of Panamanians marked the day with a "black march" through the streets of this capital to denounce the invasion and Endara's economic policies. Protesters echoed claims that 3,000 people had been killed as a result of U.S. military action. Endara conducted a public hunger strike to call attention to poverty and homelessness left in the wake of the Noriega years and destruction caused by the U.S. invasion. He visited then U.S. President George Bush, pressing for emergency relief aid and cooperative measures to curtail the Panamanian narcotics trade. He is credited with restoring confidence in the banking industry, reducing unemployment, and to addressing narcotrafficking and violent crime. His administration has faced criticism of influence by wealthy businessmen and the U.S. On February 10, 1990, the Endara government abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces. Endara later distanced himself from the party due to differences of opinion with Moscoso. He ran in the 2004 Panamanian presidential election as the candidate of the Solidarity Party. He finished second to Martín Torrijos. In 2007, he founded his own political party Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party, but it was disbanded two years later.Recent history
In 1991, the party was renamed the Arnulfista Party in honor of its longtime leader. Party members had been called "Arnulfistas" for many years. It lost the 1994 presidential elections to the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) administration of Ernesto Pérez Balladares, acting as the main opposition party before regaining the presidency in 1999 under Moscoso. In 1994, a constitutional amendment permanently abolished the military of Panama, replacing it with a small paramilitary force (the Panamanian Public Forces). At the 2004 elections, the party won 19.2% of the popular vote and 17 out of 78 seats. In presidential elections held the same day, its candidate, José Miguel Alemán, finished a poor third, with 16.4% of the vote. The Arnulfista Party changed its name to the Panameñista Party (after the name it had a few decades earlier) in 2005. On October 2, 2016, José Luis Varela was elected President of the Panameñista Party.Moscoso and press restrictions
Moscoso included in her platform a pledge to work to repeal press restrictions dating to the Torrijos era that criminalized criticism of public officials and permitted prior censorship; in 1999 she signed a bill that mandated the submission of legislation to bring Panama's press laws in line with international standards by June 2000. This legislation was not forthcoming, but government disclosure laws were passed in 2001. Lawsuits against journalists continued; even President Moscoso, along with Winston Spadafora, the former minister of government and justice and a current Supreme Court justice, filed a criminal defamation suit. In 2005, many of the 'gag laws' enacted under military rule in the 1960s were repealed by new president Martin Torrijos.2009 elections
Presidential and legislative elections were held in2014 elections
Juan Carlos Varela was the Panameñista Party's candidate once again for the 2014 general election. The election polls had him ranked third in a field of six candidates for almost the entire campaign period, but Varela ran a very good campaign with a steady and strong message that touched the most important issue for Panamanians. On May 4, 2014, Juan Carlos Varela was elected President of Panama with a healthy 39% of the votes in what turned out to be a three-man race.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panamenista Party Political parties established in 1932 Political parties in Panama International Democracy Union member parties