PANAMA
Analyst
Marco Fernandez
Former Economic Advisor, Ministry of PlanningDatabanks
Recent Country Insights
Brief 3: Mulino´s economic team is taking shape with today´s announcement.
PANAMA · In Brief · 16 May 2024
Minister of Environment (Medio Ambiente) is Juan Carlos Navarro. Although under a different scenario this Ministry would be operating outside the traditional realm of the economic team, the current circumstance is unique due to the issue of Minera Panama (First Quantum). Mulino´s position on mini...
Brief 2: Felipe Chapman will be the new Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF)
PANAMA · In Brief · 15 May 2024
The first appointments of the economic team of President-elect José Raúl Mulino (JRM) were announced today. Felipe Chapman (56) will be the next Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF). Chapman earned a BA in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from INCAE Business School. He is the president...
Brief 1: the May 5 official results
PANAMA · In Brief · 14 May 2024
The official results gave Mulino the victory in a winner-takes-all contest José Raúl Mulino, 64, was proclaimed president-elect on Thursday, May 9. with 33.4% of the valid votes in an election in which a record 77.6% of registered voters participated. The winning alliance was composed of the Real...
Mulino's triumph and prospects for reforms ahead
PANAMA · In Brief · 06 May 2024 · 2 responses
As we forecast in our previous report, José Raúl Mulino was elected President of the Republic of Panama for the period July 2024 to June 2029. He garnered 34.3% of the vote, nearly ten percentage points ahead of Ricardo Lombana, who might have won if there were a runoff. Mulino, whose electoral s...
José Raúl Mulino could run next week…the Supreme Court hinted yesterday
PANAMA · In Brief · 26 Apr 2024
On April 25, just 10 days before the elections, Supreme Court Justice Olmedo Arrocha, who is handling the case of the unconstitutionality lawsuit against the Electoral Tribunal (TE) decision that allowed José Raúl Mulino to run as a presidential candidate, issued a public statement. In this state...
The calm before the storm: the good news from 2023 and what lies ahead for the economy and fiscal situation in 2024
PANAMA · Report · 26 Mar 2024
In 2023, real GDP growth reached 7.3%, despite the November social crisis. Growth was driven by traditional sectors such as construction, commerce, transportation, and real estate. Monthly indicators suggested a slowdown in Q3, with a contraction in Q4. Construction activity, supported by public ...
Ricardo Martinelli (via his alter ego José Raúl Mulino) leads the polls by a wide margin
PANAMA · In Brief · 12 Mar 2024
Today, the newspaper La Prensa published the latest presidential survey, in which José Raúl Mulino leads voter preferences with 26%, followed by a technical tie among candidates Ricardo Lombana (10.8%) of the MOCA party, Martin Torrijos with the Popular Party (10.8%), and Rómulo Roux (10.2%), lea...
Public sector cash flow and the IMF Article IV Report update
PANAMA · Report · 11 Mar 2024
In 2024, the public sector faces a projected 3.9% decline in total revenues due to the absence of significant one-time occurrences from the previous year, while primary expenditures are expected to rise by 8.6%. This increase is primarily driven by growth in current expenditure, particularly payr...
Balancing the books, shifting the landscape: the NFPS deficit and Martinelli's disqualification
PANAMA · Report · 15 Feb 2024 · 1 response
Despite having to resort to accounting artifices, the government upheld the fiscal ceiling, as highlighted by credit rating agencies and analysts. In 2022, the Non-Financial Public Sector deficit was 3.98% (when the legal limit was 4.0%), and in 2023, it fell below the required 3.0%. In the last ...