President Cortizo announces that he plans to continue his tenure after his medical checkup in Houston. More subsidies are on the table to tame the inflationary effects.

PANAMA - In Brief 12 Jul 2022 by Marco Fernandez

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In a pre-recorded televised conference yesterday, Laurentino Cortizo announced that his health is stable. He plans to continue leading the Executive until the end of the Constitutional term in July 2024. Last week Cortizo traveled to Houston, Texas, to obtain a second opinion about the diagnosis made in Panama of a pre-cancer condition. Although the detailed results were not available to the public, the medical checkup's conclusion seems optimistic. The President didn't have a quiet return. The country is under social turmoil as protesters from several groups are disrupting traffic and calling for a general strike to pressure the government to reduce gas prices and essential foods and end corruption, especially in the Legislative Assembly. The usual suspects lead the pack: the construction union (SUNTRAC), teachers, and university students. Opposition parties and a fraction of the incumbent PRD are also criticizing the Administration. They blame Cortizo and his team for "inaction" in addressing these and other problems. The Chamber of Commerce and other private groups have criticized the Executive for misallocating fiscal resources to increase payrolls and more significant deficits. Cortizo's reaction was to freeze the price of gasoline at US 3.95/gallon (the current price is US 5.75 per gallon of Premium quality, US 5.17/gallon of regular, and US 5.31/gallon of diesel). The national monthly consumption of different fuels is about sixty million gallons, thus representing an estimated cost of around US 92 million per month net of taxes (at current international prices). Today he will also approve the capping of the prices of ten products included in the consumption bask...