Panama’s Political Outlook
Since 1989, no political party within Panama has been able to retain the Presidency for more than one term. Although a bad sign for the state of politics in the country, it is certainly good news for former mayor of Panama City and current presidential candidate from the Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) Juan Carlos Navarro. Navarro joined the Dialogue on April 10 to share his thoughts on Panama’s political, social, and economic outlook and discuss his vision for the country looking towards the May 2014 presidential elections.
Panama has played a key role in joining West to East since Vasco Nuñez de Balboa led an expedition through the once-untamed isthmus to discover the Pacific Ocean. It has thrived in large part because of its geographic location, but also because of its extraordinary economic development over the last several decades. Panama is the fastest growing country in the hemisphere with the two most important ports in Latin America and an average growth rate of 8.5 percent over the past ten years. Panama will continue to profit through its strategic position in the global economy, ensured by the expansion of the Panama Canal which will be completed by 2015.
According to Navarro, this success is not only a product of an “open economy,” but a “strong democracy.” Despite a veneer of economic success, he continued, there are still severe underlying challenges. Chief among them is the unevenness of development across the country: 25 percent of Panamanians live in poverty, with these conditions disproportionately affecting indigenous and afro-descendant communities. The education system is underfunded not only in these communities, but throughout Panama. Improving schools and job training must become a “national priority,” if economic success is to continue, noted Navarro. He also pointed out that the criminal justice system is extremely weak: of the 700 murders last year, not one person has been convicted. Of the 10,000 people in jail, 6,000 are being held in pre-trial detention, waiting for their cases to be heard.
To address some of these challenges, Navarro proposed the creation of a ”Ministry of Indigenous Development,” sweeping education reforms to increase the amount of time kids are in schools, judicial strengthening, and an integral security plan. However, a major obstacle to these reforms is Panama’s volatile political landscape. Today’s Congress is highly fragmented and there is little hope that there will be a clear majority following the 2014 elections. Nor has the presidency functioned as a platform for change, with leaders of all stripes usually sticking to the same policy playbook. Navarro has indicated that he would seek to form a coalition to overcome the likely stalemate, similar to that which has allowed President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico to pass multiple reforms at the outset of his presidency.
Navarro envisions Panama among the world’s developed countries: “It is a plane on an airstrip with all the right equipment and a great crew. It is ready to take off; it just needs a new pilot.” Economically, Panama has already taken off, yet the real question is whether it will go back to retrieve the marginalized sectors of society that it has left behind.