Panama president-elect sends warning to judiciary


News from Panama

Panama’s president-elect Laurentino Cortizo sent a message to prosecutors, judges, and magistrates to not respond to political pressures or economic sectors, but to their conscience. Cortizo’s remarks were made on Thursday. May 9 n the speech he gave after receiving the credentials as president-elect of from the president of the National Scrutiny Board, Nivia Rossana […]

May 14, 2019

Too many challenges for new president of Panama, Nito?


News from Panama

At 66 years old, Cortizo’s election represents a continued consolidation of democracy in a country which celebrated its sixth presidential elections after the US invasion of 1986. Laurentino Cortizo is the new president of Panama. Known as Nito, this businessman and livestock trader won by a narrow margin of 2%, and will take up the […]

May 14, 2019

Latin America: Panama Richest, Argentina Declines


News from Panama

Panama remains the richest country in Latin America, according to a Latinvex ranking based on new data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Meanwhile, Venezuela and Argentinaare declining on the ranking, which looks at gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita GDP to measure wealth. While GDP per capita statistics remain controversial, the PPP measure is considered the most accurate […]

May 14, 2019

Panama election a distorted expression of growing opposition to austerity


News from Panama

Panama’s electoral tribunal declared Laurentino Cortizo Cohen of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) winner of Sunday’s presidential election in Panama, with 33 percent of the votes, two points ahead of the openly right-wing Democratic Change candidate, Rómulo Roux, who acknowledged his defeat Monday afternoon. The election was another sign of growing opposition to inequality, albeit […]

May 14, 2019

Exclusive: U.S. must cultivate Central America or lose out to China: Panama president-elect


News from Panama

Panama’s president-elect, Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo, said the United States should pay more attention to Central America or risk losing ground to China, which has won diplomatic support and increased its investment in the region in recent years. Cortizo, of the center-left Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), won Sunday’s unexpectedly close presidential election with 33 percent of […]

May 6, 2019

Panama election: Cortizo wins unexpectedly close race


News from Panama

Centre-left candidate Laurentino Cortizo has been declared the winner of Panama’s presidential election. In an unexpectedly close race, Mr Cortizo finished two percentage points ahead of his centre-right rival, Rómulo Roux. Mr Roux has yet to concede, citing reports of voting irregularities. The elections have been dominated by pledges to fight corruption and to tackle […]

May 6, 2019

Panama joins crisis meeting on Venezuela


News from Panama

Panama’s Vice President and Foreign Minister, Isabel De Saint Malo de Alvarado is attending an emergency meeting of foreign Ministers of the Lima Group which began on Friday, May 3, in the city of Lima. The meeting was called after the failed military uprising of a group of Venezuelan soldiers in support of the president […]

May 6, 2019