Mireya Moscoso is a woman of humble family, who began working as a secretary, and then a campaigner for President Arnulfo Arias. When Arias was exiled to the United States of America, the young lady followed suit and finally married the President. It was in the US that she pursued her studies in interior designing from the 'Miami-Dade Community College'. After Arias' death she took over his estate as well the leadership of the 'Arnulfista Party'. As a member of the party she contested in two presidential elections. She lost the first attempt to President Ernesto Pérez Balladares, but returned the next term to snatch the votes away from Martin Torrijos. As the first female President of Panama, she took efforts to gain control over the Panama Canal, and tried to handle the environmental problems that were prevalent in the region. However, there were strict laws against public expenditure that stopped her from passing new legislative reforms. Added to that, there were several accusations of partiality as well as corruption against Mireya and her government. She could not hold on to her initial popularity and the later representatives of the ‘Arnulfista Party’ failed to impress the masses. She was succeeded by Martin Torrijos, a ‘Democratic Revolutionary Party’ candidate, who is considered by many to have fared better as President than Moscoso