PANAMA CITY — Latin America’s most strategically-located country is booming, and its current prosperity is expected to accelerate in coming years thanks to a windfall of profits from the Panama Canal’s expansion. And yet, there are fears about the country’s future.
There is widespread anxiety — including from senior US diplomats, according to recently released WikiLeaks cables — that President Ricardo Martinelli’s bullying governing style might lead to an excessive accumulation of powers, increased corruption, political turbulence, capital flight, and an economic downturn.
According to a US Embassy cable signed by former US Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, the Panamanian president — a supermarket tycoon elected in
