President Juan Carlos Varela is an unlikely champion of clean government in Panama.

He is the leader of the oldest political party in a country long perceived as one of Latin America's most corrupt. And he served as vice president in the free-spending, scandal-ridden government of his predecessor, Ricardo Martinelli, opening his mouth to publicly criticize the now-disgraced former leader only when he was pushed aside by his onetime ally.

Yet, since Varela's surprise come-from-behind election victory last year, the scion of one of Panama's richest families has deftly ridden a groundswell of popular rage with politics as usual.