Panamas leader imitating Hugo Chavez?

What the Papers Say
La Prensa, Panama, August 14.
The President of the Republic pledged to increase the pensions of the retired elderly with from the Social Security Fund, and now they are asking for compliance. The irresponsibility of the chief executive becomes more surprising every day. The President knows that he cannot usee the funds of the Social Security Fund to gain sympathy or to win applause.

The money from the CSS belongs to the insured, not the government, so that the promised increases are intolerable interference in matters not within its competence. The programcovering disability, old age and death ended last year with a deficit of $64 million, but could double quickly with the promised adjustment, which would further increase the deficit of this program.

In any event, the Executive will have to find the necessary funds to fulfill his word, but that means more subsidies. This crazy paternalistic policy of the President will eventually become a serious problem for the state’s finances. His actions and speech seem to imitate the unhealthy populism of Hugo Chávez. {jathumbnail off}