Esteban Amir Lazo, a 21-year-old Panamanian, trusts that his economic situation can improve with the new government that is elected in the general elections of this Central American country on Sunday.
This May 5, Panama elects its President, as well as the deputies of the National Assembly and other local positions.
Lazo, an informal merchant who makes a living selling ice cream in the famous Cinta Costera de Panama, in the capital, says that despite having passed his sixth year in accounting, he does not practice his profession due to lack of jobs.
“On Sunday I will go to vote early because we need a new government, one that will generate radical change in this country. It is time,” Lazo told the Voice of America.
Lazo earns approximately 40 dollars per day and what he can afford is to pay for a small room that he rents for 150 dollars per month.
In Photos | Panamanians ready for the presidential elections
Panama celebrates its presidential elections this Sunday, May 5, in a polarized environment and with clear challenges in economic and transparency issues, according to experts.
“I hope that the new government will provide more job opportunities for young people and that they will not ask for so much experience to provide jobs.”
According to a survey carried out by the International Center for Political and Social Studies (CIEPS) at the end of 2023, among the main problems that Panamanians recognize is corruption, with 22.3% and unemployment with 12.7%.
Poverty appears in the survey as the fifth problem most pointed out by Panamanians, with 8.8%, as well as inequality with 8.5%.
Analysts consulted by VOA assure that a new government in Panama will face challenges related to the economy, migration and unemployment.
In 2023, Panama’s GDP grew by 7.5%, exceeding expectations for the third consecutive year; However, unemployment until August 2023 was around 7.4%, according to a report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
For 2024, the IMF forecasts GDP growth of 2.5%, compared to 7.5% in 2023, that is, a considerable decrease.
“These rates are very, very weak for what Panama was used to growing,” Daniel Zovatto, an expert on elections, governance and democracy at the Wilson Center, an American think tank, told VOA.
In March, the credit agency Fitch downgraded the rating of Panama to the “garbage” category citing “fiscal and governance problems” following the decision to close the country’s largest mine last year following weeks of demonstrations.
The new government of Panama will also face the immigration issue due to the number of people who cross through the Darién jungle, in the south of the country. In 2023 alone, more than 500,000 migrants crossed the jungle heading to the United States, according to official figures.
“There is a combination of very considerable economic and social institutional political problems,” says Zovatto, and estimates that whoever is elected will have an agenda very overloaded with challenges, such as the tense political climate.
“The new president must look for ways to calm the country, reconcile or call for a national dialogue, which is very inclusive and plural, try to reach agreements and consensus that will allow confidence to be recovered, recover the conditions of the business climate, attract investments, investments foreigners,” Zovatto stressed.
The Electoral Tribunal of Panama has registered eight candidates presidential elections for the May 5 elections where the next president who will govern the 4.1 million inhabitants of the canal country will be elected.
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