Taking advantage of his stay for formal acts in the province of Colón this November 5, the day that marks 118 years of the consolidation of the Separation of Panama from Colombia, the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, called for national unity to promote the recovery of the economy, a process that is “on the right track” with growth projections of between 10% and 12% for this year after the collapse of the GDP in 2020 caused by the pandemic.
The province of Colón has been immersed in a long social and economic crisis that has worsened with the pandemic and that has led to public protests in previous weeks to demand employment, health, education and public safety.
The city of Colón, located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea and 80 kilometers north of the capital, is one of the poorest and most conflictive in the country and its streets are witness to constant fights between gangs, settling accounts and homicides.
After acknowledging that there is a “great debt of the State” with the Caribbean province, Cortizo listed the public projects that are underway there and also gave the order to proceed with the start of others, new or abandoned for years, with a millionaire investment for generate jobs and move the economy, reported EFE.
“These are not moments to advance a political campaign (…) This is the time to unite as Panamanians, as Colonenses, and move forward and continue facing the pandemic and continue advancing with optimism and without tripping, continue advancing with the economic recovery” Cortizo said.
He reiterated that he feels “optimistic” about the future of the Central American country, of 4.28 million inhabitants and with an economy focused on services and logistics, “because the process of economic recovery”, after the fall of 17.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, “is on the right track,” Cortizo said.
“All the projections that international organizations have, qualifying (risk) for Panama put us with an economic growth of between 10% and 12% (of GDP in 2021), one of the highest in the region. What do we need ? Sit down, listen to each other, talk, because the objective, the mission that we have at this moment is far superior to any particular interest, “added the president.
Panama’s economy collapsed by 17.9% in 2020 due to the closure of almost all sectors as part of the measures to stop the spread of covid-19, which so far has claimed the lives of 7,321 people and infected 473,089 in the country.
