Territorial organization of Panama

The Republic of Panama is a unitary State according to its Political Constitution, which is territorially organized into provinces, districts, corregimientos and special regimes.

As of December 4, 2020, the political-administrative division of the Republic of Panama comprises 10 provinces, 81 districts (or municipalities), 6 indigenous comarcas (4 of them at the provincial level) and 701 corregimientos of which two are regional.

History

With the proclamation of the Republic of Panama in 1903, the country was organized into provinces, which in turn were divided into municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the Panamanian Constitution of 1904.

Article 192 of the political constitution of 1946, introduced the denomination district, which is how the territory to which the action of the municipality extends was named. In this way, territory and government, integrated the district. However, in that constitution the district was not part of the territorial organization of the country, since, according to its article 5, the territory was divided into autonomous municipalities grouped into provinces. On the contrary, article 232 of the current political constitution conceives the municipality as the autonomous political organization of the community established in a district. That is, that the district is determined by the community established in a territory subject to the action of the municipality.

Regarding the corregimientos, they were introduced for the first time in the political constitution of 1941, in whose article 5, the provincial councils were empowered to subdivide the districts into corregimientos. After having been suppressed from the 1946 constitution, they became effective in article 5 of the 1972 constitution, which recognized them as the political base of the State, with broad representation and political belligerence in the context of the corregimiento itself, in the municipality, the provincial council and even in the Legislative Body. However, this preponderance was suppressed, when the provision was subject to reform in 1983, reserving its representation at the local and provincial level.

Regarding the creation of special regimes, they were established for the first time in the legislative act of 1928, which, modifying article 4 of the Panamanian constitution of 1904, declared the possibility of creating regions with segregated territories from the already existing provinces.

Provinces

Map of politics Panama, divided into provinces and indigenous districts.

The province is the largest political division into which the territory of the Panamanian State is divided, made up of the districts that have been legally established.

For the creation of provinces it is required:

1. That the territory of the future province has a minimum population of 15% of the total population of the country according to the last census.
2. A minimum territorial extension of 4,000 square kilometres.
3. The physical delimitation of the provincial territory.
4. A socio-economic and financial report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
5. The favorable decision of citizens and district authorities, through popular on-site consultation.
6. A report of the technical study conducted by the National Commission on Administrative Political Limits.
7. That the territorial constituency of which the territory is taken is with a population and territorial extension, at least the same as that of the new province.

In each province there is a governor of free appointment and removal from the executive body, who is the representative of the latter in his constituency. Each governor has a substitute also appointed by the Executive Branch.

In each province there is a provincial council, integrated by all the representatives of corregimientos of the respective province.

Districts

Map of Panama, divided into districts in 2020.

The district is the political-administrative division of the territory of the province subject to the jurisdiction of a municipality, made up of corregimientos, over which the municipal government exercises jurisdiction.

The political constitution of Panama recognizes the municipality as the autonomous political organization of the community established in a district. It is considered the fundamental entity of the political-administrative division of the State, with its own democratic and autonomous government, it is responsible for providing public services and building public works determined by law, ordering the development of its territory, promoting citizen participation, as well as the social and cultural improvement of its inhabitants and fulfill the other functions assigned by the constitution and the law.

For the creation of a district it is required:

1. A population resident in the territory of 25,000 inhabitants, of which 1,500 are to reside in the head of the district.
2. the physical delimitation of the district territory.
3. A socio-economic and financial report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
4. A previous report from the municipal governments involved.
5. The favorable decision of citizens and district authorities, through popular on-site consultation.
6. A report of the technical study conducted by the National Commission on Administrative Political Limits.
7. The territorial constituency of which the territory is taken is with a population and territorial extension, at least the same as the new district.

Regarding the authorities, in each district there is a mayor, head of the Municipal administration, and a vice mayor, elected by direct popular vote for a period of five years.

In each district there is a corporation called the municipal council, made up of all the Representatives of Corregimientos that have been elected within the district.

Corregimientos

The corregimientos constitute territorial circumscriptions that make up a district that legally corresponds to it.

To create a corregimiento, the following is required:

1. In urban areas, a resident population not less than 3,000 inhabitants, of which at least 500 must be domiciled in the header. In rural areas, a population not less than 1,000 inhabitants, of which at least 250 are to be housed in the head.
2. the physical delimitation of the correcting territory.
3. A proposal signed at least 10% of the citizens of the future correction, collected through popular on-site consultation.
4. A socio-economic and financial report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
5. A report of the technical study conducted by the National Commission on Administrative Political Limits.
6. That the territorial constituency of which the territory is taken is with a population and territorial extension, at least equal to that of the new correction.

In the case of urban corregimientos with high population density, the new proposal for the creation of the corregimiento must have a minimum of 20,000 inhabitants and a territorial extension, more or less, equal to that from which it is segregated.

Corregimiento may also be created with less population base for reasons of territorial extension, levels of poverty and difficult accessibility.

Each corregimiento is administered by a representative who is elected by direct popular vote, for a period of five years. The representatives of corregimientos can be reelected indefinitely.

Special regimes

Indigenous regions

Law 65 of 2015 establishes that for the creation of special regimes, the requirements established in the constitution and the law must be observed.

The first special regime to be created was the region of San Blas (today Guna Yala) by means of Law 16 of December 19, 1953; It was followed by the Emberá-Wounaan (law 22 of November 8, 1983), Madugandí (law 24 of January 12, 1996), Ngäbe-Buglé (law 10 of March 7, 1997), Wargandí (law 34 of July 2000), and Naso Tjër Di (law 188 of December 4, 2020).