BRIEFS: Election

Small town welcomes big fish of campaign 2009

David Mesa/LA PRENSA

stumping ground: Presidential hopefuls converge on Coclesito, which has been the site of political pilgrimages since the 1970s. 1056151

Over the years, Coclesito, a humble community of 1,500 in the southwest corner of the province of Colón, has become an obligatory pit stop on the road to winning the presidential nomination for the Partido Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD).

Back in 1971, Coclesito attracted the attention of dictator General Omar Torrijos, who saw in the hamlet an ideal strategic location for launching a project he called “the conquest of the Atlantic.” Torrijos died in a plane crash en route to Coclesito in July 1981.

This year, as the general elections approach, politicians have begun dropping in. Posters announcing the visit of PRD presidential hopeful Juan Carlos Navarro on July 31 decorate the streets and houses of Coclesito. There are also posters promoting incumbent Deputy Nelson Jackson, and PRD presidential candidate Balbina Herrera, who’s visit to the town has yet to be scheduled.

And if the current election fervor isn’t enough, weathered advertisements for Martín Torrijos’ 2004 campaign still hang on some of Coclesito’s wooden houses.