Panama in danger of becoming banana republic – analyst

Panama’s  president "is buying the support of people with subsidies, while destroying democratic institutions’ reports a a Miami newspaper.

The influential Argentine political analyst Andres Oppenheimer  writing in the New Miami Herald describes president Ricardo Martinelli as a right wing populist, benefiting from Panama’s economic growth fueled by the canal expansion, initiated by the previous government.

On the plus side Oppenheimer said:"It seems that Panama is the economic star of Latin America in 2012 with a 6.8% economic growth and without any worry of money in the near future."
"But the latest headlines from Panama confirm what I noticed during a visit last year. There is growing political turmoil of the sort taken by the Martinelli government, which many fear could lead to an autocracy without division of powers, greater corruption, capital leakage and decay.”

He included discussions with the entrepreneur and founder of La Prensa, I. Roberto Eisenmann, and Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima.

"I am punished for criticizing the government, but others entrepreneurs are punished  by buying  their business," said Eisenmann.

A Eisenmann, was notified  of a  $3 million penalty this month by the Directorate General of Revenue (DGI) after a tax audit,.

Oppenheimer summarized  most recent  opposition allegations against Martinelli of the the control of the National Assembly, Supreme Court Justice, and the effort to control the Electoral Tribunal and the Panama Canal.

Some successes were the visit of  two  million tourists and the Free Trade agreement  with the U.S..

"There is still time. Martinelli can show critics that they are exaggerating, and that Panama is headed for a long period of democracy and prosperity. But if you do not hear some of the criticisms of what you are doing,  you can turn the country into a banana republic, and ruin one of the of the continent's most promising economic success stories” says Oppenheimer