Panama, the new American dream
By Panama City on September 5, 2013 total views: 1 Views per day: 0 No Comments
Panama, the new American dream
MARLENE TESTA
The fame of a prosperous country attracting thousands of foreigners in search of riches. The country, which is the most competitive in Central America
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| MIGRATION. Four Spaniards arrive daily to Panama in search of job opportunities. Photo: Joselevy Velasquez | Star |
2013-09-05 – 12:00:00 AM – PANAMA. The fame of rich country which is now Panama attracts thousands of immigrants seeking prosperity or meet the coveted ‘American dream’.
‘The expansion of the Panama Canal, the real estate boom, the accelerated growth of the Panamanian economy, the development of the financial system and the tourist explosion have made this country a place of destination for many migrants who seek economic prosperity’, said Aristides Hernández Economist. And now their expectations grow, with the onset of good news: ‘Panama, is the new rich of Latin America’, said economic consultant Latin American News.
Panama has become a second home for the Spaniards. According to new statistics, each day four Spanish come to the isthmus. As indicated by the Consulate of Spain in Panama, there are registered over 10. 200 Spaniards. The rates of unemployment in Spain reached 26%. Panama, which grows at 10.5%, is therefore a very attractive destination for Spaniards.
The wave of Venezuelan immigrants has also grown. The office of migration in Panama has registered 20 thousand Venezuelans doing official paperwork.
Meanwhile, the tourism authority, at the end of 2012, recorded 180,000 tourists from that country thing which leave behind the political climate in which his nation is wrapped to do new business in Panama.
But also become Colombians, Asians and Americans.
In total, there are 102,243 foreigners who have chosen Panama to live. The country ‘has been and will continue to be attractive for its economic stability and for the handling of the American currency, the dollar’, said economist Horacio Estribí.
Although not everything that shines is gold. Immigrants do not always find what they expect. For example, social inequalities and poverty – stuck at 32% – it is part of the landscape that are.
IMPACT
The arrival of migrants has other impacts on the economy: displacement in the jobs of the Panamanians. Although, for Hernandez, the migration is positive because force Panamanians to be better prepared to be more competitive in the labour market.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
‘Panama is doomed to success’, although growth in the next five years to two digits – 10. 5% – as did it last year. However, the Economist Eloy Fisher is not so optimistic. The growth will be reduced from 4% to 6%, ‘in the best of cases’.
Despite these projections, the country continues to maintain competitiveness. According to the global competitiveness report, Panama is ranked 40, which ranks it as the most competitive economy in Central America and the second in Latin America.
