Democrats Abroad Panama in the Province of Chiriqui held an in person fall meeting with wine and appetizer tasting in Boquete on October 9. Due to much decreased Covid cases in the country and ability to have people together, about 50 vaccinated members of Chiriqui Progressives discussed plans for 2022 voter registration and get out the vote activities. In addition, everyone was able to sample three wines and related appetizer tastings, as well as listen to local musicians. It was a festive atmosphere for everyone. https://www.instagram.com/p/CU1TyxdA1DK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

At a virtual meeting on April 28, 2021, the following people were elected as leaders of Democrats Abroad Panama for the next two years:  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0icfCn50o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Candidates List for Upcoming Elections

Democrats Abroad will have a ZOOM call to meet the candidates for the upcoming election.

The Zoom Call is at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84987544120?pwd=TmszWlBhR0kwRjBDQXlGRkVoclhEZz09

Equality is Important. I remember the first full time professional job I held, which was at a city in Southern New Mexico. My husband and I had been in New Mexico for the military, but after he got out decided to leave New Mexico and go back to the left coast where our families lived. My boss, who was unhappy we were leaving, asked why we couldn't stay in New Mexico. He asked what would keep me at the City, and I told him that as a female, nonclerical employee, I had no promotion potential and little hope of getting a decent wage. After working so hard to get a Master's degree, it seemed a pity to not use that education anywhere. He said, "Maybe you can one day become a manager for Purchasing. That department is a place that can have female managers." That sort of attitude exemplified my career and doesn't even begin to go into the disgust I felt at multiple times having to put in formal requests to get pornographic photos removed from City offices. I spent many years as the only woman at the table, representing my local municipal owned utility. I got tired of the number of times more qualified women were passed over for promotions, so that some young inexperienced man could be promoted over them. One time, as a manager in California, I entered the room as the only female there--more experienced than many of the men. I was asked to get the coffee. And yet, with all of these and many more instances, I can say I was lucky. I worked hard to get a Master's Degree and pushed constantly to get to a level in the organization where my skills could be utilized. I was able to do this, because my parents are white, college educated and encouraged me to be articulate and have a backbone. This resulted in many instances of being called a "bitch" and worse for engaging in behavior that was slightly assertive and not a submissive, shrinking violet. Not all young women and girls are so fortunate. At a minimum, they should have the legal rights to be an equal citizen, with equal access to education and jobs and equivalent pay for equivalent work. I would hope my daughter and nieces have more opportunities to be who they are, without needing to be the "pushy bitches" that women my age had to be to get ahead, get fulfilling careers and take care of their families. Joyce Kinnear (living in Panama; voting in Nevada)

Democrats Abroad Panama had its in person voting event in Boquete on Tuesday, March 3.  Turn out was very high, especially among those who had not belonged to Democrats Abroad previously. Of the 79 in person votes at the event, over 55 were new sign ups! While about 120 members were in the Boquete area already, most of those voted by email or in their home states. Things were crazy for awhile, but everyone was excited about voting for the next Democratic President of the United States! 

If you haven't voted yet, consider attending the Beaches (Coronado area) event Friday, March 6, at 9:00 AM at the  

Democrats Abroad Panama has its first in-person voting event on Super Tuesday, March 3. Democrats in Boquete and the surrounding Chiriquí area are ready to vote this afternoon from 4:30 to 7:30 at the Animales Clinic. The clinic is just off the main highway coming into Boquete, on the other side of the road from Ivan's Supermercado. 

Three members of the Democrats Abroad Panama team attended training in Costa the weekend of October 25 and 26. The training was for members of the Democrats Abroad Americas Region and was attended by participants from Canada to Argentina, Haiti to Ecuador. The Costa Rica membership hosted an excellent event, where attendees were provided with information on how to set up Voter Registration and Global Presidential Primary events. 

With this fantastic training, we will be planning on Voter Registration events in the upcoming months and Global Presidential Primary locations in the week of March 3 to 10. These events are currently being planned for the Boquete region and the beaches area around Coronado.

We had a great potluck dinner and discussion of democratic issues and candidates. After a lively discussion of how US and world society got to the position we are in, it was agreed that we want more discussion. We plan on hosting future candidate forums, where the positions of each candidate will be summarized. In addition, we will host workshops on how to vote in the primaries and national elections in 2020.

Democrats Abroad Panama (Chiriquí) had two debate parties in Boquete on June 26 and 27. A total of 16 different people (12 the first night and 11 the second) had a great time interacting with each other and commenting on the debaters. While we had different preferences among candidates, we agreed that the debates were interesting and informative. Looking forward to our July debate parties!