Panama's poor brace for
economic change
By Carey Wagner, South
Florida Sun-Sentinel
Panama boasts the
fastest growing economy
in Latin America, with
investors from the
United States and beyond
buying new high-rises
and subdivisions.
Yet many in the country
are waiting for
development to improve
their lot. About 40
percent of the country's
3 million people live in
poverty. Nearly 9
percent of workers were
unemployed last year,
and the majority have
low-paying jobs.
The fishermen of the
Boca la Caja
neighborhood of Panama
City see condominiums
being built for
foreigners and the
wealthy each day as they
leave the harbor in
their wooden boats. How
soon, some wonder, will
the builders offer high
prices for our
waterfront homes?
In Miraflores, a rural
outpost in the
mountainous northwest,
the Ngobe-Buglé people
dream of attracting
tourists with their
captive iguanas. Perhaps
with the proceeds, they
say, they could bring
water and electricity to
their village.
Residents of Colón,
Panama's second-largest
city, watch passengers
from the cruise ships
bypass their businesses
for golf, kayaking and
fishing excursions hours
away. Crime is so
prevalent, one popular
guide book advises,
"Avoid Colón if you
can."
Transformation for most
Panamanians is coming
slowly. For those who
have yet to taste the
benefits of development,
16-year-old Edgar
Peregrina offers: "We
don't have problems with
earthquakes, tornadoes,
and we have very nice
weather. ... Panama has
lots of opportunities." |
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