---
title: "Ángela Russo wins Defensoría vote after Assembly revives rejected candidacies"
date: 2026-04-09
author: ""
url: https://panamadaily.news/angela-russo-defensor-del-pueblo-vote/
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Politics"
tags:
  - "Ángela Russo"
  - "civil society"
  - "Defensor del Pueblo"
  - "National Assembly"
  - "Panama politics"
  - "Realizando Metas"
---

# Ángela Russo wins Defensoría vote after Assembly revives rejected candidacies

## What Happened

Ángela Russo was elected Defensor del Pueblo by the full National Assembly after the Government Committee had excluded her from its original shortlist. The vote marked a major turn in a selection process that had appeared settled before the chamber reopened the full pool of applicants.

The key to the shift was a legislative mechanism that allows a minority of a committee, in this case four deputies, to present a report or position before the plenary in an effort to overturn a decision. That move brought back the names the committee had set aside and allowed lawmakers to vote again from the full list of 33 candidates.

## The Political Push Behind the Vote

Lawmaker Luis Eduardo Camacho of Realizando Metas backed the strategy and helped build support for it. His bancada, together with deputies from the Panameñista Party, Cambio Democrático, and other allies, supported the return of the discarded candidates to the floor.

With the full list restored, the pro-government bloc pushed Russo’s candidacy even though she had not been among the seven names recommended by the committee. The parliamentary majority ultimately set the course and secured the votes needed for her election.

Russo, a former magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice, won with 37 votes. Rodrigo García, backed by the Vamos coalition, the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and Seguimos, received 31 votes.

## Criticism Over Independence and Procedure

The outcome drew criticism inside the Assembly and from civil society. Detractors questioned the reversal of the committee’s earlier work and warned about possible consequences for the independence of state institutions.

Deputies who opposed Russo from the beginning called her “la ungida,” or “the anointed one.” Roberto Zúñiga of Vamos said the backing came directly from the Presidential Palace, fueling concerns about the autonomy of the process.

Supporters of the winning side defended the vote, arguing that the plenary acted within its constitutional powers. The clash highlighted a broader debate over how much weight committee recommendations should carry when the full chamber decides to intervene.

## What The Vote Reveals

The election also exposed unusual political alignments. Vamos joined forces with the PRD and Seguimos behind García, while Realizando Metas coordinated with Cambio Democrático and the Panameñista Party, which is led in the Assembly by Jorge Herrera.

Those shifting alliances now raise questions about whether the same blocs will hold together ahead of July 1, when the Assembly is set to choose a new board of directors. The vote for the Defensoría has become not only a personnel decision, but also a preview of the political maneuvering still to come in the legislature.