Their main hope is Mireya Moscoso de Gruber, leader of the populist Arnulfista party.

ECONOMIST: Panama

Mireya Moscoso, the current president, is widely regarded as weak and ineffectual, and her party's candidate is trailing badly.

ECONOMIST: Panama and its canal

Mr Torrijos junior's strongest challenger, Mireya Moscoso, is the widow of a former president, Arnulfo Arias, who was General Torrijos's arch-enemy.

ECONOMIST: Panama

"It seems to me that when you want an ambassador, two very important assets are proximity to the president which she clearly has and visibility, " said Mireya Solis, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

WSJ: U.S. Likely to Name Caroline Kennedy as Japan Envoy

On September 1st, Mireya Moscoso will take over as the country's president, in what should be the second democratic transition since American troops invaded in 1989 to overthrow the military dictatorship of General Manuel Noriega.

ECONOMIST: Panama