Gabriel Silva (Panamanian politician)

Honorable
Gabriel Silva
Panamanian Congressman for Circuit 8-7
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 1, 2019
PresidentLaurentino Cortizo
DeputyWalkiria Chandler D'Orcy
Personal details
Born (1989-04-07) April 7, 1989 (age 35)
Panama City, Panama
Political partyIndependent Candidate
Alma materUniversidad Católica Santa María La Antigua
Oxford University
Columbia University
OccupationCongressman, lawyer, consultant, university professor
Websitewww.gabrielsilvadiputado.com

Gabriel Eduardo Silva Vignoli (born April 7, 1989), is a lawyer, university professor and Panamanian politician, former Congressman in The National Assembly of Panama representing the 8-7 Circuit as an Independent politician.

Biography

Gabriel Silva obtained a bachelor's degree in Law and Political Sciences from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua in 2011, where he would also later obtain a master's degree in Higher Education and serve as a professor.[1] While he was studying, he was elected President of the Law Students' Association and the Federation of University Students. After graduating, he worked as a legal manager for Procter & Gamble for five years.

In 2016, as a Chevening Scholarship scholar, he obtained a master's degree in Public Policy from the Blavatnik School of Government of the Oxford University in United Kingdom.[2] In 2017, as part of the Fulbright Program, he obtained a master's degree in Laws from Columbia University in New York City, United States. He is also a Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellow from the National University of Singapore, a Harvard Executive Fellow and a Yale World Fellow.

In February 2018, he announced his intention to run as an independent candidate for a seat at the National Assembly of Panama. After months of collecting signatures, and reaching the number required by the National Electoral Tribunal, he became an official candidate for the Assembly. He was the Independent pre-candidate for the 8-7 Circuit with most signatures and less expenses.

He was elected as a Congressman for The National Assembly of Panama in the 2019 Panamanian general election with 17,471 votes[3] for the 8-7 circuit,[4] which corresponds to the Ancón, Betania, Bella Vista, Calidonia, Curundú, El Chorrillo, Pueblo Nuevo, Santa Ana and San Felipe jurisdictions. He received the second highest number of votes for an independent candidate for congress.[5] During his term as a Congressman, he has presented many anti-corruption proposals,[6] pro-transparency[7] and education reforms, mental health law, among others.

Gabriel Silva is also the co-founder of Coalición Vamos, a political movement in Panama that played a pivotal role in the 2024 elections by recruiting, supporting, endorsing, and training over 100 independent candidates. Despite being a young organization, VAMOS achieved remarkable success, securing the election of 20 out of 71 Members of Congress, several mayors, and over a dozen local governments.

References

  1. ^ "Gabriel Silva | Diputado Independiente | Panamá" (in Spanish). Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Alumni elected to Panamanian National Assembly". www.bsg.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Echeverría, María Victoria (May 7, 2019). "Gabriel Silva dio la pelea en el circuito 8-7" [Gabriel Silva put up the fight in the 8-7 Circuit]. El Siglo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  4. ^ González, Nimay Victoria (May 8, 2019). "Curules del circuito 8-7 quedan definidas, Gálvez y Adames se reeligieron" [All seats for the 8-7 circuit were filled, Gálvez and Adames are re-elected]. Telemetro Reporta (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Sandoval, Yolanda (May 6, 2019). "El efecto Gabriel Silva en el circuito 8-7" [The Gabriel Silva effect in the 8-7 circuit]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Bustamante, Aminta (January 19, 2020). "Recompensa para quien denuncie la corrupción" [Rewards for those that report corruption cases]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  7. ^ González Jiménez, Roberto (January 22, 2020). "Proponen que Estado no pueda contratar a grandes donantes" [A Proposal to ban big donors from signing contracts with the government]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2021.