Labor and Agrarian Party (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Partido Laborista Agrario'', PALA) was a

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian right-of-center

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

, founded in 1960. The PALA supported the Marco Aurelio Robles administration in 1964-1968. In 1968 it allied with the People's Alliance (ADP) and its candidate David Samudio Ávila. The PALA survived the period of suspension under

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Panamanian military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially ...

(1969–1979) and re-registered on 2 May 1979. “'' Azael Vargas (former Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry), who claimed that the Labor and Agrarian Party had been hijacked, split with it to found the Authentic Labor and Agrarian Party. He then joined with industrialist Carlos Eleta Almaran, scion of one of the "20 families', to found the National Renovation Movement (MNR), which in 1982 changed its name to the Conservative Party. An attempt to join forces with the Republican Party (PR) to form the Conservative Republican Party was frustrated by the Electoral Tribunal, and Vargas and Eleta then went on to form PALA. The party mounted an expensive publicity drive and was accused of fraudulently boosting its membership figures''”. The Electoral Tribunal registered the PALA with 35000 members. Arnulfo Arias Madrid accuse PALA of fraud in obtaining their membership. “''Despite its name, and its use of the spade as its symbol, it is extremely conservative and hostile to organized labour. With backers among Panama's wealthy elite, PALA initially supported the presidential aspirations of National Guard chief Gen.

Rubén Darío Paredes Rubén Darío Paredes del Río (born 11 August 1933) is a Panamanian army officer who was the military ruler of Panama from 1982 to 1983. Colonel Paredes came to power after the displacement of Colonel Florencio Flores, due to the instability ...

in 1984.''” The PALA eventually dropped him as a candidate and hacked the National Democratic Union (UNADE) and its candidate Nicolás Ardito Barletta in the 1984 election. PALA became the second most important force within UNADE, but was weakened in 1987 by a power struggle in which Carlos Eleta Almaran was ousted as party president, apparently as part of a move by the defense forces to take greater control over the party. He was succeeded as party leader by Ramon Sieiro Murgas (General

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

's brother-in-law). In 1989 it allied with the National Liberation Coalition (COLINA) and its candidate Carlos Duque, PALA was expected to be allocated 1 seat in the post-US invasion legislature in 1989. It joined the United People Alliance (APU) coalition behind official candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares in the 1994 Panamanian general election. The PALA was abolished by the Electoral Tribunal on 15 September 1994. Electoral Tribunal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor And Agrarian Party Political parties established in 1960 Defunct political parties in Panama Labour parties Defunct agrarian political parties Political parties disestablished in 1994 1994 disestablishments in Panama