Not to be confused with the People's Party

People's Party (Panama)

The People's Party was founded in the early 1960s. It was the main opposition party during the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega. The party supported Martín Torrijos in the presidential election of 2004...

 of the same country.

People's Party of Panama is a communist party

Communist party

A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

 in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

.

Founded on 4 April 1930 as the Communist Party of Panama (Partido Comunista de Panamá, PCP), after Panamian communists broke away from the Labour Party

Labor Party (Panama)

The Labor Party was a Panamanian political party.The country's first communist-oriented party, the Labor Party, was founded in 1925 and affiliated with the Communist International. Its successor, the Communist Party of Panama was officially established in 1930....

. Early leaders of PCP included Eliseo Echévez and Cristóbal Segundo. The PCP joined the Communist International, and reached its apogee of popularity during and right after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

In 1943 the PCP changed its name to People's Party of Panama.
This very small, but well-organized, party then exerted considerable influence on the Panamanian Federation of Students and on the trade union movements in the Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 and in the Canal Zone. It long controlled the Trade Union Federation of Workers of Panama. “After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the party concentrated on attacking the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 presence in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, leading the Panamanian government to crack down on it and then outlaw it in 1953. Subsequently, Communist influence in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

's trade unions declined greatly and many party members defected to other groups".
In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 400.

Although small in membership, for several years during the 1970s the PPP acted as the principal source of organized political support for the Omar Torrijos

Omar Torrijos

Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...

 government,

particularly on the Panama Canal issue.

It resisted the formation of the broader based Democratic Revolutionary Party

Democratic Revolutionary Party

The Democratic Revolutionary Party is a Panamanian political party. It was founded in 1979 by the General Omar Torrijos, and is generally described as a party of the centre-left of the political spectrum.-History and creation:...

 (PRD) and lost a considerable amount of its power during the late 1970s as a result.

The party was permitted to operate semipublicly. In 1979 it applied for formal recognition and, with some 77,000 members, was easily able to demonstrate the required level of support. One of its candidates, running as an independent, obtained a Legislative Council seat in 1980.
In 1984 it broke away from the pro-government National Democratic Union (UNADE) coalition because UNADE no longer followed the reformist ideas of Omar Torrijos

Omar Torrijos

Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...

. The PPP ran its own presidential candidate in 1984 (Carlos Del Cid); in 1989 it allied with the National Liberation Coalition (COLINA) and its candidate Carlos Duque.
Since 1951 the General Secretary of the PPP has been Ruben Darío Sousa Batista (sometimes known by his pseudonym, "Vicente Tello").
The PPP was derecognized by the Electoral Tribunal on 1 July 1991.