President-elect Mulino promises to address problems in the Panama Canal, build railway works

He elected president of PanamaJosé Raúl Mulino, said that he will work with legislators to obtain the approval of a bill that allows the Panama Canal to build water reservoirs in order to face a unprecedented drought which has impacted the capacity of the waterway.

In an interview at his office in Panama City, Mulino said Wednesday that he wants the law, which would grant the waterway permission to operate on land needed for reservoirs, to be the first approved by his government.

The channel, he added, needs a solution to the loss of income related to the adverse weather conditions.

Mulino also said he wanted to make a major new train – similar to Mexico’s Mayan Train – a flagship project of his administration.

“One of the first decisions I am going to announce is the creation of the national railway secretariat,” Mulino said, adding that studies show the work could help boost tourism.

Mulino, a 64-year-old former security minister, won Panama’s election on Sunday with 34% of the vote and said his government would be pro-investment and pro-business, adding that the Central American country would meet its obligations. financial, although he promised not to forget the poor.

Mulino won with the help of popular former president Ricardo Martinelli, who was banned from participating in the Panamanian elections due to a money laundering conviction.

Mulino was the vice presidential candidate this year and took up the presidential nomination after his running mate was vetoed.

In March, agency Fitch downgraded Panama’s debt to speculative grade, citing fiscal and governance pressures aggravated by the government-ordered closure of a giant copper mine run by First Quantum Minerals FM.TO.

Mulino said he was confident that Panama would maintain its investment grade rating – which it still holds from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – and that the rating agencies would be satisfied with his government’s economic plans for the country.

Both Moody’s and S&P told Reuters before the elections that would monitor the Government’s first steps before making a decision on Panama’s credit profile.

“I am sure that (the rating agencies) will give their endorsement of what we are going to propose,” he stated. “I’m really positive and optimistic.”

Mulino also said he spoke with several world leaders after his victory, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Following the conversation with Blinken, Mulino expressed his commitment to creating a team dedicated to streamlining the process for American companies to invest in Panama, and also said that he agreed with Lula to explore the possibility of the Central American nation entering the Mercosur trading bloc.

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