Whether it is a marina, mining operation or a hydro electric plant, presidential candidate, Juan Carlos Varela claims that if he is elected the new president of Panama, he will have prepared for audit, all of the concessions granted during the Martinelli administration and some for possible revision. WOW, that would normally shake most investors up quite a bit were it not for the fact that Varela’s chances are not that good and my bet is that Jose Domingo Arias will be the winner. As they say, money makes the world go round no matter where you are and President Martinelli has has spent a lot of money growing Panama over the last 5 years so it likely that the CD party will remain in power. La Prensa has to sell newspapers so why not scare people. Problem is what Varela proposes would greatly undermine the international perception of Panama if you can invest in something and then have it taken away by a new president. Open mouth, insert foot!
Editorial
The announcement of the main opposition candidate in the presidential elections in Panama in May 2014, the former Vice President Juan Carlos Varela, from the Partido Panameñista party, one of the most likely candidates to be elected, could mean a serious blow to the international perception of the country in terms of receiver of investment, putting a question mark on the legal certainty of the contracts signed by the state.
Legal uncertainty is one of the greatest enemies of investment, and between the countries of the region, El Salvador is a clear example.
Prensa.com reports that the “president of the country promised to review one by one the concessions given out in the Martinelli government, although many of them were awarded while he was in power. They includes ports, airports, mining, etc.. How will he do it? He explained that on July 1, 2014, when he ascends to the presidency [if elected], the first thing he will do is hire an international auditing firm to audit all of these concessions. “
Source: Prensa.com
Just when I decided that Panama is where I’ll move my business to then eventually retire, an anti-development, anti-progress, Marxist wing-nut like Varela pops up.
Now Panama is looking way too risky.
He, at least on the international level, is stating he is a total idiot when it comes to foreign and for foreign investment. Clearly stating that he will try to maintain a state of total incompetence in the actions of his leadership. We can only hope he does not win. They should issue more concessions faster for the development of Panama. I’m guessing he just wants to have threats so that he can get big brides early on. He should have a campaign slogan I’m running for personal profit and to be a thief on a grand scale. Not that the other do not do this but they at least do not make it part of the campaign promises.