Light and shadows on the Panama horizon

Little by little, the country begins to normalize its activities, abruptly interrupted by a pandemic that seems under control, although it is not over yet. It is, therefore, good news, which is reflected in the Government’s current income, which even exceeds what was budgeted for the first quarter of this year, as well as the exercises of immediately previous years.

This gives relief to an economy that continues to suffer the consequences of the pandemic and represents hope for thousands of Panamanians who lost their jobs, who became informal or who saw their income reduced.

However, the way in which the Government spends the funds that are so hard to obtain is worrying. In the years of the pandemic, it has been notorious that the Government has not made the slightest effort to execute a cost-containment plan; we saw how each year the national budget increased, balanced with the contracting of debts that add up to billions of dollars; that the State payroll increased, responding to mostly clientelistic criteria. We hope that this injection of fresh money is used sensibly and not as campaign funds for the 2024 race, in favor of the ruling party. – LA PRENSA, Apr. 13.