The presidential calls of the pro-government Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) begin to accelerate the pace and draw up their strategies to achieve their plans to be elected in primaries as presidential standard-bearer of the largest political party in the country.

The PRD has already announced that its primary elections will be on Sunday, June 11, 2023; however, none of the possible presidential aspirants, members of this political group, have officially announced that they will run in the internal process to dispute this position.

However, at least four figures that are part of the PRD are already mentioned as possible presidential candidates for these primary elections.

On the one hand, the Vice President of the Republic, José Gabriel Carrizo, is the one who has been most active in his apparent interest in winning the Presidency of the Republic in the 2024 general elections.

In fact, within the party he is promoted more intensely as a possible presidential candidate in the PRD primaries.

A possible candidacy of “Gaby” Garrizo would have the support of the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, who until now has given him the confidence to handle highly relevant issues within the government machinery.

Another figure, who according to sources within the PRD, is beginning to move his chips is the former President of the Republic Martín Torrijos, who has already been seen on some tours around the interior of the country probing the political terrain.

Torrijos has not made his interest in being a presidential candidate official either, but sectors within the party push him as an option, even to counteract the strength that Carrizo may show in this internal contest.

“Martín, they say, already has alliances with several deputies and with the new group led by the former secretary general of the party Pedro Miguel González and the former Minister of Health Rosario Turner; It is a new movement that they have formed”, assured a PRD source.

Regarding this possibility, another active member of the PRD indicated that Pedro Miguel González’s people are surely going to throw a contender at Vice President Carrizo, although he said he is not very sure that that contender is former President Martín Torrijos.

While the deputy and president of the National Assembly, Crispiano Adames, also maintains the aspiration of being the PRD presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.

“Adames’ aspiration is a real interest, it is not a screen. He and the deputies who support him cannot go head-on against the government and Carrizo, because there may be retaliation,” said a member of the Legislature who supports Adames.

“Many deputies maintain appointments in key entities and positions, some have important concessions, positions in notaries and consulates, and they fear losing those benefits,” the source said.

Another figure that is handled as a presidential option for the PRD is the businessman Anel “Bolo” Flores, who is said to maintain a close friendship with the deputy and president of the PRD, Benicio Robinson.

Although Flores announced in 2013 that he would resign from the PRD, because this group was “kidnapped by electoral clientelism,” he assured that he later re-registered with this political group because the PRD has always been the party of his choice.

Flores, when asked about the possibility of participating in the PRD primary elections, said that for now it is something that he has not yet considered, although he has not ruled it out.

“I think it may be a possibility, but well, like everything, it will depend on whether there is support, that there is empathy, but I do not rule out the fact that it necessarily has to be for the PRD party. We will be willing to cooperate and support from anywhere, as long as it is for the best interests of the country”, he specified.

According to some PRD leaders consulted on the subject, both Anel “Bolo” Flores”, Crispiano Adames and Mario Barletta are the “covered roosters” of party president Benicio Robinson”.

What is certain, indicated the source, is that the candidate who wants to have real options to win the PRD primary will have to have the support of Benicio Robinson and the closest leading deputies, since they control the rest of the the deputies, the majority of the mayors and corregimiento representatives and local leaders.

But which of these figures would count on Robinson’s endorsement?

Another PRD leader believes that although Robinson fans other figures as presidential candidates, he will ultimately support the candidacy of Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo.

“In the end, Robinson would support Gaby Carrizo because he has received a lot of support from the government and from the Vice President of the Republic himself,” the source concluded.