OPINION: Panama walking toward the cliff

Risk rating agencies continue to observe government management and the economic behavior of the country. And there is not-so-good news: things continue to get worse, with an increase in public spending and precarious tax collections, insufficient to maintain the growing waste of a government that has become what appears to be the main bottling company in the country. This tells us that there is no containment or solutions to pressing problems, such as the Social Security Fund, clientelism, the deficit, or the increase in the state payroll. Although the country grows – that is the good news – the bottomless hole of the Government eats up the money in payrolls. And, although the authorities know that the situation is unsustainable, they continue to approve budgets with balance sheets that are unattainable, except for the large debts that they contract each year. The panorama will worsen with the elections just around the corner, since the money will be used for electoral purposes. We walk towards the cliff and the politicians encourage us with siren songs, enlivened by a cheerful murga. – LA PRENSA, Dec. 7