Panama Joins List of Rodríguez Supporters

PANAMA this week joined the growing list of supporters of former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) in his bid to become the next Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry announced.

El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru and the United States are the only countries left in the Americas (except Cuba, not a voting member of the OAS) that have not pledged support for Rodríguez.

Panama’s Foreign Minister Harmodio Arias announced the country’s support on Monday. In the announcement, Arias described Rodríguez as “a man with a long diplomatic record, who during his period as president maintained excellent relations with Panama and demonstrated an unconditional support of our country in our continual sovereign fight.”

He also said Rodríguez will “carry out a praiseworthy effort in the pursuit of democracy in the countries that make up the OAS.”

Last week Chile, Ecuador, Honduras and Guatemala announced their support for Rodríguez after he spent the week in South America attempting to convince top officials he is the best choice for the post.

Also last week, outgoing Salvadoran President Francisco Flores announced he would not run for OAS Secretary General, which means Rodríguez is running unopposed.

The Costa Rican candidate has secured the pledged support of 30 of the 34 members of the OAS. Representatives of the member states will meet in Quito, Ecuador, in June to officially elect the organization’s next Secretary General.