What Happened
The National Assembly elected former Supreme Court magistrate Ángela Russo as Panama’s new Defensor del Pueblo for the 2026-2031 term, giving her the responsibility of overseeing the protection and promotion of human rights in the country. She will replace Eduardo Leblanc after a long session marked by sharp disagreement over how the selection should be carried out.
Russo secured 37 votes in the plenary. Rodrigo García received 31 votes, while Giselle Emiliani Duque got 1. The vote stretched late into the night as lawmakers argued over whether the chamber should choose from a preselected shortlist or from the full list of candidates.
How the Vote Unfolded
Shirley Castañeda of Realizando Metas presented Russo’s nomination. At the same time, Vamos, the PRD and allied lawmakers backed Rodrigo García, while Jairo Bolota Salazar of the PRD nominated Giselle Emiliani Duque.
Much of the debate focused on parliamentary procedure, with lawmakers repeatedly citing the Assembly’s internal rules, Law 504 of 2025, and the Constitution. Eight deputies spoke during the opening part of the debate, reflecting the political tension surrounding the selection.
Russo was not visible in the Assembly during the process, unlike several other contenders. Her election capped a session that ran past 10:00 p.m. and exposed a hard-fought contest for one of the country’s top rights-related posts.
Why This Appointment Matters
The Defensor del Pueblo is one of Panama’s key oversight offices, with a mandate tied to human rights protection and public accountability. The selection also became a measure of current political strength inside the legislature, where voting blocs showed signs of shifting ahead of the next contest for the Assembly’s leadership on July 1.
The result highlighted changing alliances among the main political forces. Vamos, the PRD and other groups promoted a seven-name slate and ultimately coalesced around García. In contrast, RM, the Panameñista Party and Cambio Democrático backed the full list of more than 30 candidates, a strategy that ended up favoring Russo.
Political Background
The vote also revived attention on Russo’s past as a magistrate. She was the ponente in the ruling that annulled the prosecution process over alleged irregularities in the purchase of 19 radars from Selex Sistemi Integrati, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, for $125 million during the Ricardo Martinelli administration.
That 2017 decision benefited then-security minister José Raúl Mulino, now president of the Republic, and drew criticism over judicial independence. During the campaign for the ombudsman post, supporters and critics alike treated Russo as the favored candidate of the government side, with RM instructing its caucus to support her.
The election now sets the stage for the next internal battle in the Assembly, where lawmakers will soon turn to the leadership race that could determine whether current alliances hold or break apart again.