The People's Party () is a Panamanian Christian democratic political party. Founded in 1956, it was made up of middle-class professionals, intellectuals and students, with support from trade unions, particularly the Federation of Christian Workers. It went on to become one of Latin America's most conservative and anti-communist Christian democratic parties. The ideological foundation of the party is based on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. The PP is a full member of the Christian Democrat International and Christian Democratic Organization of America. The group that organized these meetings formally established itself on 12 April 1956 and first called itself Social Democratic Action (). From 1957 to 1960 it called itself the National Civic Union () for the Christian Democratic Movement. In 1960, the organizers decided on the name Christian Democratic Party of Panama (, PDC).
The PDC's leading figures were middle-class professionals, intellectuals and students, but support also came from the trade union. In particular, the Federation of Christian Workers, established in 1961, was closely aligned with the PDC. That was considered a success for the new party and was enough to assure its registration as a legal party. The Christian Democrats continued to be a small but well-organized element in Panamanian politics in the succeeding years. The PDC was one of the few parties within National Opposition Front (FRENO) (a coalition of eight opposition parties formed in March 1979) that offered a programmatic alternative to military government policy by calling for substantial social reforms and expanded participation in democratic processes. The PDC advocated for introducing nationalist social reforms to preclude revolutionary action. The PDC won 20.6% of the vote and two seats in the 1980 legislative elections (to 19 of the 56 seats in the newly formed National Legislative Council, the other 37 being filled by nominees of a non-party National Assembly of Community Representatives established in 1972). The ADO lost the presidential and legislative elections following suspected widespread fraud by the military. In 1987, the PDC became increasingly involved in confrontations with the government, openly campaigning by strikes (supported mainly by businesses rather than labor unions) and street demonstrations (which were often violently repressed) for the resignation or removal of General Manuel Noriega. Ricardo Arias Calderón referring to charges against Manuel Noriega of murder, drug trafficking, corruption, and electoral fraud, described him as "virtually a dictator and gangster". After the official ratification of the results following the US military invasion in December 1989, Calderón became First Vice-President and Interior and Justice Minister, and the PDC became the largest party in the Legislative Assembly with 28 of the 67 seats. In September 1991, the PDC was judged firmly to have secured its political influence on parliamentary committees as a direct result of facilitating the victory of a dissident Authentic Liberal Party (PLA) candidate in the election of a new President of the Legislative Assembly.
On 10 September 2001, the PDC changed its name to People's Party.
In 2014, the PP allied with the Panameñista Party and its candidate Juan Carlos Varela to form the El Pueblo Primero alliance, which won the election with 39% of the vote on May 4, 2014. As a result, several members of the party served in the Varela Administration, highlighted by the party's president Milton Henriquez serving as Minister of Government.
The PP is a full member of the Christian Democrat International and Christian Democratic Organization of America.