José Raúl Mulino Quintero (born 13 June 1959) is a Panamanian lawyer, diplomat and politician who is the president-elect of Panama. He ran for president in the 2024 Panamanian election, as a substitute for former president Ricardo Martinelli.[2]

José Raúl Mulino
Mulino in 2014
President-elect of Panama
Assuming office
1 July 2024
Vice PresidentNone[a]
SucceedingLaurentino Cortizo
Minister of Public Security
In office
14 April 2010 – 30 June 2014
PresidentRicardo Martinelli
Minister of Government and Justice
In office
1 July 2009 – 15 July 2010
PresidentRicardo Martinelli
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
1993–1994
PresidentGuillermo Endara
Preceded byJulio Linares
Succeeded byGabriel Lewis Galindo
Personal details
Born (1959-06-13) 13 June 1959 (age 64)
David, Panama
Political partySolidarity Party (1994–2006)
Patriotic Union (2006–2011)
Democratic Change (2011–2019)
Realizing Goals (2022–)
SpouseMarisel Cohen de Mulino
Children4
Alma materUniversidad Católica Santa María La Antigua
Tulane University (LL.M)

He served as Minister of Government and Justice from 2009 to 2010 and Minister of Public Security from 2010 to 2014, both roles in the government of President Martinelli. He served as Deputy Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs during the government of President Guillermo Endara. From 1994 to 1995 he was a member of the National Council of Foreign Relations and Substitute Magistrate of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice [es]. Mulino was Martinelli's vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 elections; however, Martinelli was disqualified from running. As a result, Martinelli endorsed Mulino and Realizing Goals nominated him.[3]

Early life and legal career edit

Mulino was born on 13 June 1959 in David, Chiriquí.[4] He is the son of the politician and governor of the province of Chiriquí José Mulino Rovira, and the businesswoman Nelly Quintero de Mulino.[5] His brother is the diplomat José Javier Mulino.[6]

He completed primary and secondary studies at the San Vicente de Paul School, in David, Chiriquí. He graduated university with a Bachelor of Science and Letters. He later studied law and political science at the Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua, graduating in 1982. The following year he completed a master's degree in maritime law from Tulane University.[4]

After graduating in law, he dedicated himself to private professional practice in the field of maritime law, and in 1988 he became a founding partner of the Fábrega, Molino y Mulino law firm.[7] During that time he began his activism against the military dictatorship of Manuel Noriega, as a representative of various trade associations.[4]

Political career edit

In 1990 he was appointed Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the government of president Guillermo Endara, after the restoration of democracy. After the death of Foreign Minister Julio Linares, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and remained in office until the end of the administration in 1994.[8][9] During his time as minister, he visited different governments and international organizations, and served as Head of the Negotiating Delegation of the Republic of Panama before the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom, for the negotiation and signing of mutual legal assistance treaties on criminal matters and crimes related to drug trafficking.[10] From 1994 to 1995 he was a member of the National Council of Foreign Relations and Substitute Magistrate of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.[9]

In the Martinelli government he was appointed as Minister of Government and Justice in 2009 and served only one year, to 2010 where he submitted his resignation.[11] He was thereafter appointed as Minister of Public Security from 2010 and served until the end of the administration in 2014,. He received important tasks, becoming one of president Martinellis most trusted allies.[4] As minister he reinforced security on the streets, through the application of police checkpoints, which Mulino claimed was a success as the police had managed to arrest fifteen thousand criminals trying to leave Panama,[12] although some lawyers raised concern.[13]

On 9 March 2012, he announced his resignation as Minister of Government and Justice, after disputes with the director of the National Police of Panama Gustavo Pérez, over the regulation of a new statute for security entities of the state.[14] However, on 14 March he retracted his resignation, after the dismissal of Pérez from the position of police by president Martinelli.[15][16] In July 2013, he was one of those in charge of handling the crisis of the North Korean ship Chong Chon Gang, in which Cuba was transporting war material hidden in 250,000 bags of brown sugar, but which was detained in Panamanian waters.[17] The North Korean crew members were detained and later released and deported, in addition to receiving a fine from the Panama Canal Authority and retention of war material.[18]

In 2015 he was imprisoned for allegedly committing crimes against the public administration, but in the end his case in 2016 was annulled due to procedural errors.[11]

Mulino has been involved in party politics and was the founder of the Solidarity Party, serving first as vice president and then president. He later served as the Second Vice President of the Patriotic Union. He joined Martinelli's Democratic Change in 2011 until he left the party in 2019, three years later he joined Martinelli's new founded party Realizing Goals.[4]

Presidential and vice-presidential runs edit

On 28 May 2018, he ran as a presidential candidate for Democratic Change (CD), with the purpose of regaining control of the party for former leader Martinelli, who had friction with Rómulo Roux, the new president of CD.[19] However, he lost the primaries to Roux, with whom he then, after several months of refusal, allied to support his candidacy in the 2019 elections.[20] Mulino argued that his alliance sought to return the growth, prosperity and jobs that CD had achieved during the Martinelli government, whom he also supported on his return to the country;[21] however, Roux finished in a second place losing narrowly to Laurentino Cortizo.[22]

Mulino was Martinelli's vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 elections; Martinelli, however, was disqualified from running after being sentenced to almost eleven years in prison for money laundering. As a result, Martinelli who led all polls in the follow-up to the election endorsed Mulino and Realizing Goals nominated him.[3] After the endorsement 26% of those surveyed said they would vote for Mulino in the elections, 16 points more than his immediate followers, according to the survey by the company Mercado Planificado, published by the newspaper La Prensa.[3] After Martinelli's disqualification, the Electoral Tribunal decided that the ballot for the Realizing Goals should list Mulino as "presidential candidate without a vice president."[23]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Mulino was initially nominated for the 2024 presidential election as Ricardo Martinelli's running mate. After Martinelli's disqualification as candidate, Mulino assumed the replacement but without a running mate/vice president by electoral disposition.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ "Tribunal Electoral inhabilita a Ricardo Martinelli como candidato presidencial". TVN Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. ^ JUAN ZAMORANO; MEGAN JANETSKY (May 5, 2024). "Last-minute candidate José Raúl Mulino heads to victory in Panama presidential election". Atlanta Journal. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c AFP (2024-03-12). "José Raúl Mulino Leads Panama's Presidential Race, Replacing Disqualified Martinelli". The Tico Times. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  4. ^ a b c d e "José Raúl Mulino | Voto Informado 2024". voto2024.maga.dev. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  5. ^ "Chiricanos piden la libertad de José Raúl Mulino". Día a Día (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  6. ^ "Muere padre del ministro Mulino". www.critica.com.pa (in Spanish). 2013-06-09. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  7. ^ "Perfil: José Raúl Mulino Quintero". www.ecotvpanama.com (in Spanish). 2018-08-12. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  8. ^ Tiempo, Redacción El (1993-10-28). "MURIÓ CANCILLER PANAMEÑO". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  9. ^ a b "Su Excelencia José Raúl Mulino - TuPolitica.com" (in Spanish). 2009-08-02. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  10. ^ "Ministerio de Gobierno". Procuraduria General de la Nación (in Spanish). 2021-01-24. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  11. ^ a b "¿Quién es José Raúl Mulino, el sustituto del expresidente Martinelli en la campaña electoral de Panamá?". Voz de América (in Spanish). 2024-03-20. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  12. ^ "Policía Nacional seguirá aplicando el 'pele police' en las calles". RADIO PANAMÁ (in Spanish). 2011-10-27. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  13. ^ "Retenes policiales y uso del pele police deben ser regulados por ley". www.critica.com.pa (in Spanish). 2011-10-04. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  14. ^ Remy, HE Keo (2018-11-05), "HE KEO REMY", Seeking Justice in Cambodia, MUP, pp. 106–115, doi:10.2307/jj.5371959.12, ISBN 978-0-522-87330-6, archived from the original on 2024-05-06, retrieved 2024-03-24
  15. ^ "Mulino no se irá y tampoco denunciará amenaza golpista". www.laestrella.com.pa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  16. ^ "Martinelli quita a Gustavo Pérez de la Policía y nombra a Julio Moltó". www.laestrella.com.pa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  17. ^ "Lo que se sabe del barco norcoreano retenido en Panamá". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 2013-07-16. Archived from the original on 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  18. ^ Panam\u00e1\/EFE (2014-02-08). "El Chong Chon Gang podrá zarpar de Panamá tras pago de multa". Panamá América (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Si soy presidente el que manda soy yo; José Raúl Mulino". RADIO PANAMÁ (in Spanish). 2018-05-31. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  20. ^ Noticias, Redacción de TVN (2018-08-07). "Mulino aceptará 'la voluntad de la mayoría' en caso de no salir victorioso en primarias". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  21. ^ "José Raúl Mulino y Rómulo Roux dejan sus diferencias a un lado y se unen por Cambio Democrático". Panamá América (in Spanish). 2019-01-17. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  22. ^ "Cortizo declared winner in Panama president race". AP News. 2019-05-06. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  23. ^ Cruz, Omar De La (2024-03-04). "Tribunal Electoral inhabilita a Ricardo Martinelli como candidato presidencial". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-24.