{"id":25953,"date":"2019-05-06T12:35:55","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T17:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=25953"},"modified":"2019-05-06T12:35:55","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T17:35:55","slug":"exclusive-u-s-must-cultivate-central-america-lose-china-panama-president-elect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/exclusive-u-s-must-cultivate-central-america-lose-china-panama-president-elect\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: U.S. must cultivate Central America or lose out to China: Panama president-elect"},"content":{"rendered":"

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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.<\/p>\n

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Cortizo, of the center-left Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), won Sunday’s unexpectedly close presidential election with 33 percent of the vote and a 2 point gap over his nearest rival, the electoral tribunal said.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-educated former agriculture minister and businessman said that if the United States neglected a region it has long considered its backyard, it was inviting China to fill the gap.<\/p>\n