Balbina Herrera
| Balbina Del Carmen Herrera Araúz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | c. 1955 |
| Nationality | Panamanian |
| Occupation | politician |
| Known for | 2009 presidential candidacy |
| Political party | Democratic Revolutionary Party |
| Children | three |
Balbina Del Carmen Herrera Araúz (born c. 1955) is a Panamanian politician and presidential candidate in the Panamanian general election, 2009. On May 3, 2009, she lost the race to the presidency of the Republic of Panama to center-right candidate Ricardo Martinelli.
She finished studies in the National Institute and the University of Panama, where she obtained her bachelor's degree with honours in Agronomy Engineering. She also holds post-graduate studies in education.
She served as Mayor of San Miguelito, congresswoman, and President of the National Assembly with the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). When a male legislator once interrupted her to say that women should be at home with her children, she punched him and yelled, "Respect women!"
As a National Assembly member in 1994, she opposed outgoing President Guillermo Endara's granting of temporary asylum to 10,000 Haitian boat people, but supported his initiative to abolish the armed forces. In 1996, Herrera supported President Ernesto Pérez Balladares's bill to grant amnesty to 950 former officials of military ruler Manuel Noriega, dismissing criticism of the bill as an attempt by fractured opposition parties to find a new common cause. In the same year, she spoke out against an attempt to revive capital punishment after a wave of murders of bus and taxi drivers.
Herrera was elected as President of the National Assembly in 1994, the first woman to hold the post. She also served as chairwoman of the Parliamentary Trade Commission in 1998, calling on pharmaceutical companies to rein in rising prices or face government price controls.
In December 2000, human remains were discovered at a Panamanian National Guard base, incorrectly believed to be those of Jesús Héctor Gallego Herrera, a priest murdered during the Omar Torrijos dictatorship. Moscoso appointed a truth commission to investigate the site and those at other bases. The commission faced opposition from the PRD-controlled National Assembly, who slashed its funding, and from Herrera, who threatened to seek legal action against the president for its creation. The commission ultimately reported on 110 of the 148 cases it examined, concluding that the Noriega government had engaged in "torture [and] cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment", and recommending further exhumation and investigation.
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