Martinelli administration cooked the books Finance Minister

PANAMA’S Minister of Economy and Finance Dulcidio De La Guardia ,confirmed on Monday, August 11 in the National Assembly that the state budget for 2014 was manipulated for electoral purposes.De La Guardia added that there were significant omissions that were made to balance the budget. 

He said the contribution from the Panama Canal was inflated as was projected income from sales of state assets.
On the other hand, De La Guardia said that extraordinary credits issued by the last administration exceeded $608.5 million without the support of additional income, and revenues are below what had been budgeted.
According to De La Guardia, the government also has liabilities of $3.6 billion for projects that were ordered but not paid for.
The increase in public spending and the decrease in income caused a $1.5 billion deficit for the first six months of the year, equivalent to 3.2 percent of the gross domestic product.
This figure exceeds the limits of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, which regulates government spending.
At this juncture, De La Guardia said that he has drawn up a plan for the containment of public expenditures, but also said he will seek a waiver to the debt limit. Reports La Prensa