Dear Panama E-Letter Subscribers:
More On Law 71 and Oscar Arias visits Panama
By Matt Atlee
The debates over proposed Panamanian Law 71 – the law that will set government policy on the titling of islands and coastal lands – will continue as the Panamanian government plans to extend the debate over the bill for at least another month. The President of the National Assembly, Jose Luis Varela, has stated that the law will be discussed in an extraordinary session that will be convened by President Ricardo Martinelli. The extraordinary session is expected to begin in late November. The Panamanian government is trying to do everything it can to reassure holders of Rights of Possession that they have nothing to fear from Law 71. Expatriates, foreign embassies and the Panamanian business community are all concerned about what the new law will mean for investors who own islands or coastal property. Look for the debates to heat up rather than cool down as the law is crafted and then pushed through the National Assembly by the end of the year.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias visited Panama this past week to sign a cooperation agreement that will boost commercial and cultural ties between the two countries. Both leaders agreed that Panama and Costa Rica share a deep respect for freedom and democracy. In addition to strengthening their bi-lateral relations, both President Arias and Martinelli want to strengthen ties to the European Union. A delegation from the European Union plans to travel to both Panama and Costa Rica this month to negotiate a trade agreement between the EU and Central America.
In other matters, President Arias seemed to be in support of Panama’s decision to leave the Central American Congress, Parlacen, but stated that Central America needs Panama to stay involved in the problems of the region. Presidents Arias and Martinelli also discussed the electricity grid that connects Costa Rica and Panama as well as the possibility of building a railroad between the two countries. Costa Rica is now building a light rail network that connects the capital San Jose with other towns in the Central Valley of Costa Rica.
Oscar Arias has only six months left in his second term as President of Costa Rica; in his first term – 1986-1990 – he won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end a civil war in Nicaragua. Arias’s popularity inside Costa Rica right now is at an all time high of 67% according to a recent Gallup Poll.
Panama will soon be a center for the global diamond trade. Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has agreed to establish a tax-free zone for Latin America’s first regional diamond exchange. The Panamanian government has committed itself to passing legislation that would allow the country to join the international diamond trading regulatory agency the Kimberley Process. However, some worry that Panama will become a repository for an illegal diamond trade.
More bad news for the Panamanian public educational system: it was ranked with Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic as the lowest in the region. The rankings were carried out by the Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study of Learning Achievement (SERCE). Panama ranked very low in mathematics, Spanish, and science. The best educational systems in the region belonged to Cuba, Argentina and Chile. The reason for the low ranking has to do with a lack of technology in Panamanian schools, which has left students highly unmotivated. The study was carried out between 2005 and 2007.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli received exactly $1 for his monthly salary. Most of his $7,000 pay check went to his favorite charities such as: Fundación Súper 99, Fundación Ricardo Martinelli and Fundación Ofrece un Hogar. Martinelli is a multi-millionaire so has decided to donate his presidential salary rather than collecting it.
President Martinelli also passed the largest budget in Panama’s history: 10.5 billion dollars, an increase of $800 million dollars over last year’s budget. Half of the budget’s monies will go to social investment, such as reducing poverty in the poorest regions of Panama. Martinelli is determined to build a strong base of support among the working class of Panama; this will certainly help build a large base of support for his small political party Cambio Democratica.
Two unidentified murder victims were found this past week in Panama. The first body was found near the border of Costa Rica and Panama in Chiriqui Province. The unidentified person was executed and his body dumped with a black bag over his head; tire tracks were discovered leading away from the body in the direction of the Costa Rican border. This is the second such murder on the border in the last two weeks.
The other murder occurred on a road near La Joya prison in Panama Province. The unidentified victim was shot in the neck and dumped alongside the road.
An armored car was assaulted as it picked up money from a Banco General in the El Dorado District of Panama City. One of the assailants and one of the guards were hurt in the exchange of gunfire. Police found a dismembered finger at the scene of the crime which belonged to one of the assailants. The assailants were dressed as police and made off with one bag of cash.
Panamanian police arrested three men wanted in the U.S. on money laundering charges. Police arrested Paulo Andrés Gómez Salazar, Omar Alberto Vásquez Giraldo – both Colombians – and Mahmoud Toukko Adnan – Lebanese. The three were grabbed by the Panamanian police after they caught a flight from Medellin, Colombia to Panama City. All three will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
A bill to raise the price of vehicle registration from $20 to $40 was frozen in the Panamanian National Assembly. The Assembly determined that the bill was “inappropriate”.
 November is the beginning of the holiday season in Panama. November 3rd, 5th, 10th and 28th are all national holidays in Panama. From about the middle of November to the middle of January, business and government in Panama is at its slowest speed.
Written By Matt Atlee
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