Business Chamber leader calls for end to politics of division

In her first message as president of the Panama Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (Cciap), Marcela Galindo De Obarrio called for an end to confrontation and for various sectors of the country to face the different challenges that affect citizens.

“Circumstances require us all equally to rise to the height of the demands of the population. Therefore, we humbly call for us to leave behind the politics of division and walk along the path of consensus, respect for opinions, and joint work that have given us so much success for the benefit of the Panamanian population,” she said Galindo De Obarrio,  on Sunday.

She said that on multiple occasions Panamanians have known how to work together to achieve objectives that have led to great benefits for the country and in this work two things have prevailed: dialogue and respect.

She recalled some of those objectives achieved: the Constitutional Title of the Panama Canal, the modernization of public services, the opening to international trade, the international banking center, the Panama Pacific special zone, the law of multinational headquarters, and the City of Knowledge.

“At present, if we really want to aspire to achieve these benefits for Panama again, the dynamics of joint construction of public policies between the State Organs and the different groups that make up the country must improve,” she said.

“There are many opportunities to do so, based on a healthy working relationship, where each one from their role or sector plays the role that corresponds to them and, although not always agreeing, we have the ability to argue and reach consensus. For this, we urgently need to renew our commitment to the future of Panama and that begins with respect between the parties and the will to build consensus, as we have done in the past”, she said.

Current Issues
Among the issues that Panama must face at this time, that transcend the current government, are the reengineering of the educational system, the sustainability of the Social Security Fund, the functioning of the justice system, the fight against corruption, compliance with the law through greater transparency, the transformation of the energy matrix, the protection of women against violence, inequality in all its forms, urgent actions to overcome discriminatory lists, the modernization of services the acceleration of the digital economy.

“None of these challenges is resolved through division and confrontation, discrediting the private or public sectors, or reinforcing the belief that state affairs are the exclusive responsibility of elected officials. In the business sector, we must accept our share of responsibility in the state of affairs in the country