Pictures of a Thriving City in Central America

On April 2, 2013, I drove my wife to visit her gynecologist.  His office is in the commercial heart of the city called Paitilla.  It is one of the most congested areas of the metropolis, as far as high-rise buildings and heavy traffic is concerned.

While waiting for the physician I wandered about the building and enjoyed the view of the modern city from the fifth floor.  It was a magnificent sight of a blooming city.  I had taken my compact Birthday Camera with me and decided to take a few shots through the slightly tainted glass window to capture the panoramic view.  It was a clear day with blue skies and cotton-candy clouds.

During the last three decades Panama has enjoyed a robust economic growth, one of the highest in the region.  For example, last year our economic growth was 10.7 percent, one of the highest in the world.  While many first world countries are struggling to stay afloat we are enjoying a four percent unemployment situation and growing at double-digit rates.

I see a bright future for our country if we are able to keep our house in order.  We never know when a black swan will emerge and rain on the parade.

Snapshot of the parking lot beside Hospital Paitilla in downtown Panama City, Panama. This is one of the two most reputable hospitals in the country with tight links to hospitals in the United States. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the modern skyline of Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

STATISTICS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA

• Total Area:  75,420 square kilometers (World Rank:  119th)
• Population:  3.52 million people (World Rank:  132nd) – 2010 estimate
• Population Density:  47.3 people per square kilometer (World Rank:  158th) – 2010 estimate
• Population Growth:  1.65 percent per year (World Rank:  82nd) – 2010 estimate
• Life Expectancy:  77.3 years (World Rank:  63rd) – 2009 estimate
• Median Age:  27 years (World Rank:  120th) – 2009 estimate
• Literacy Rate:  94.09 percent – 2010 estimate
• GDP:  $26.78 billion per year (World Rank:  96th) – 2011 estimate
• Consumer Price Inflation:  +5.88 percent per year (World Rank:  69th) – 2011 estimate
• Long Term Unemployment Rate:  4.1 percent (World Rank:  22nd highest) – 2001 estimate
• Internet Usage:  1.525 million people (42.7 percent of the population)
• Mobile Cellular Subscriptions:  7.281 million (World Rank 93rd) – 2011 estimate
• Vehicles in Use:  315,100 (103 vehicles per thousand people)
• Total Road Length:  11,600 kilometers
• Public Education Spending:  3.572 percent of GDP (World Rank 137th) – 2011 estimate
• Students:  846,157 people (24.84 percent of population)
• Teachers:  38,571 people (World Rank 121st) – 2011 estimate
• Physicians per Capita:  1.5 people per thousand people
• Hospital Beds:  1.8 per thousand people
• Labor Force:  1.649 million people (46.89 percent of population)

And now you know a bit more of who we are and how we look like.  Good Day.

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Which is the World’s Least Friendly Country?

Photograph of a typical scene of Iceland, the friendliest country in the world towards international tourism. Credit: Gadling.com

Tourism is a wonderful conduit to bring a steady flow of currency into a nation’s economy.  Countries like France, Greece, Spain, Monaco among other, depend of the flow of tourism to augment their economy.  For this to happen, it is imperative that the visitors feel at home in a foreign country.  It’s up to the people of these countries to make tourist comfortable; and that requires friendliness and a lot of warm human touch.

Have you ever been to a country that just seems to give tourists the cold shoulder? Now, there are some figures behind those unwelcome feelings; the World Economic Forum has put together a report that ranks countries based on how friendly they are to tourists.

The extensive analyses ranks 140 countries according to attractiveness and competitiveness in the travel and tourism industries. But one category, “attitude of population toward foreign visitors,” stands out.

According the survey, Bolivia, in South America, ranked as the most unfriendly country, scoring a 4.1 out of seven on a scale of “very unwelcome” (0) to “very welcome” (7).  Haiti scored the lowest on the competitiveness index.

Next on the list were Venezuela and the Russian Federation, followed by Kuwait, Latvia and Iran. On the opposite side of the scale were Iceland, New Zealand and Morocco, which were ranked the world’s most welcoming nations for visitors.

The United States (6th) topped the combined Americas, Singapore (10th) just pushed out Australia and New Zealand to lead the Asia-Pacific region, the United Arab Emirates (28th) was the highest performer in the Middle East and the Seychelles (38th) overtook Mauritius to head Africa.

Tourism infrastructure, business travel appeal, sustainable development of natural resources and cultural resources were some of the key factors in the rankings. Data was compiled from an opinion survey, as well as hard data from private sources and national and international agencies and organizations such as the World Bank/International Finance Corporation and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among others.

The report also emphasized the need for continued development in the travel and tourism sector, pointing out that the industry now accounts for one in 11 jobs worldwide.

Friendliest:

1. Iceland  6.8
2. New Zealand 6.8
3. Morocco  6.7
4. Macedonia 6.7
5. Austria  6.7
6. Senegal  6.7
7. Portugal  6.6
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina  6.6
9. Ireland  6.6
10. Burkina Faso  6.6

Least Friendly:

1. Bolivia  4.1
2. Venezuela  4.5
3. Russian Federation  5.0
4. Kuwait  5.2
5. Latvia  5.2
6.  Iran  5.2
7. Pakistan  5.3
8. Slovak Republic  5.5
9. Bulgaria  5.5
10. Mongolia  5.5have

The Panama Bureau of Tourism is working very hard to consolidate its tourism industry and we have come a long way since the Noriega days.  We still  to work on it.  Sometimes when I go out to a restaurant, drugstore, or a theater, I feel that we are not as friendly towards the customer as we should be.  I was impressed with the friendliness of the people in Colombia and Costa Rica when I visited these two countries several years ago.  I really felt at home when I was there.  Good Day.

Source:  World’s unfriendliest nations for tourists?—By Frances Cha, CNN

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Detroit: A City on the Brink of Dissolution

Credit: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Detropia is a 2012 documentary film, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, about the bankrupt city of Detroit, Michigan.

When I first arrived in Panama City in 1962 to continue my high school education, about 98 percent of the automobiles on the streets were manufactured in the United States.  Now, 51 years later, the Japanese and South Korean automobiles have taken the streets by storm.  American cars are almost non-existent.  Occasionally you will see a Ford or a Chevy roaming the streets.  Not many.

After the “Oil Shock” of the mid‑1970s, the price of oil became extremely volatile.  It was the consolidation  of an oil cartel known as OPEC ( Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) consisting of twelve countries, including Iran, seven Arab countries (Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates), plus Venezuela, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ecuador, formed at a Baghdad conference on September 14, 1960.  OPEC was organized to resist pressure by the “Seven Sisters” (mostly owned by U.S., British, and Dutch nationals) to cut oil prices and payments to producing countries.

At first OPEC had operated as an informal bargaining unit for the sale of oil by resource-rich Third World nations. OPEC confined its activities to gaining a larger share of the profits generated by the Western oil companies and greater control over the members’ levels of production. As a result of this and other events in the early 1970s, it began to exert its economic and political strength; the major Western oil conglomerates, as well as the importing nations, suddenly faced a unified bloc of exporters.

As the price for oil skyrocketed, the Japanese started to manufacture compact vehicles with a low consumption of gasoline.  The American automobile industry kept on producing gasoline guzzling vehicles which were in low demand by U.S. consumers.  South Korea followed the path of the Japanese automobile industry and began displacing American cars, (e.g., General Motors, Chrysler and Ford).  The Motor City suffered from the dwindling demand originated by Asian competition,

Detroit, also known as Motor City, is now a shadow of what it was in the “good ole days”.  It was recently in the news that Governor Rich Snyder appointed an emergency manager over Detroit finances.  Detroit has a $327 million budget deficit and more than $14 billion in long-term debt.  Detroit is an agonizing city with no money.

In 2012, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady directed a dramatic documentary called Detropia, about the decaying city of Detroit in Michigan.  This film on the city of Detroit and its woes, is emblematic of the collapse of the United States manufacturing base.  It is the Midwestern icon, actually a canary in the American coal mine.

Detropia sculps a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution.  With block upon block of crumbling houses, abandoned stores, and churches and theaters left to rot like ancient ruins, this old industrial city can easily seem like a ghost town of vanquished dreams.

Its residents embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive in a post industrial America and begins to envision a radically different future.  It is a sad story of a city and its people who refuse to accept that the city is passing away. It focuses on the decline of the economy of Detroit due to long-term changes in the automobile industry, and the effects that the decline has had on the city’s residents and infrastructure.

The film’s name came from a portmanteau of the words “Detroit” and “utopia“, and was inspired by an abandoned auto parts store, where the letter “A” in “AUTO” and the letters “R”, “T”, and “S” in “PARTS” were missing from the store’s sign. The letter “I” had been painted into the part of the store front to make the sign read “UTO PIA”.

My heart goes out to the thousands and thousands of manufacturing workers wandering aimlessly through the streets of Detroit looking for jobs that have migrated to Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, China and other emerging economies.  I know how painful it feels to be unemployed—been there done that.  I was unemployed for more than ten years surviving with on and off moonshine jobs.  My wife had to work as a waiter in a small restaurant to put food on the table.  I know what hunger is and how the stomach aches when it is empty and you have to drink generous amounts of water to keep it full and calm its rage before you go to sleep at night.  We had no children or else the nightmare would have been unimaginable.

In my opinion, the United States is no longer a manufacturing country.  The country has now reached the stage known as the Information Age or Post-Industrial Age where information is the main producer of jobs.  Manufacturing skills will have to be transformed into high-technology skills to meet the demand of this rapidly growing sector.  Space technology, computing programming, nanotechnology, economic engineering, energy exploration, and space transportation is where the jobs are.  Training people in these information areas is where the future lies.  In that direction is where Detroit, and the country as a whole, should be heading as fast as possible.  Motors are no longer the answer to their plights.  Good Day.

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The Great Divergence

Yesterday afternoon I happened into a thought-provoking TED video presentation about the haves and have-nots of this world, and the reason behind this wide wealth gap.  I’ve been thinking about what the speaker said, mainly because we were subject to a cruel military tyranny in Panama for more than twenty-one years.  Having freedoms and losing them is a tremendous blow to the dignity of people.  It happened to us with a swift military coup in October 1968.  The nightmare ended on December 20, 1989 when the United States military forces toppled General Noriega’s tyrannical regime.  Then we regained our lost freedoms and our dreams.

Panama is now a democratic country, but its democratic institutions are fragile and we could end in another political nightmare if we are not careful in caring for and consolidating our democratic institutions.  Democracy, freedom, civil rights, and political options should not be taken for granted.  People in Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and Burma, just to name a few are aware of this irrefutable fact.

Most of the $195,000 billions of wealth in the world was made after around 1800.  The wealthy make about 19 percent of the world’s population and own 66 percent of this gargantuan wealth.  It is known as the Capitalism Paradox or the Great Divergence.  This leads to the 65 thousand-dollar question:  Why are countries rich while others are in a constant state of economic malaise?  The answer is because the wealthy countries have laws and rules invented by reason.  It has nothing to do with natural resources or geography.  It is because of their ideas and its institutions.  Let’s take a look at some of these institutions:

1. Competition
2. The Scientific Revolution
3. Property Rights
4. Modern Medicine
5. The Consumer Society
6. The Work Ethic

Lack of competition creates stagnation and staleness.  The Scientific Revolution brought forward a quantum economic  leap forward as man gained more control over nature (e.g., railroads, canals, steam-powered engines, the assembly-line, factories and so forth).  Land in the hands of many, is a lot better than land in the land of the few.  Good medicine provides health which in turn provides wealth.  Sick people are not productive.  Wealth is created by production, distribution and consumption.  If the demand is low, factories have to shut their doors and people are unemployed.  That’s what happens when unemployment goes through the roof during the depression cycles.  And finally, people should have a desire to work.  Without production of goods and services, wealth can not be generated.  Laziness is equal to poverty.

I would like to finalize this blog post about the inequality of wealth in the world, with a powerful quote from Winston Churchill.  This is what he said in 1938.

“Civilization means a society based upon the opinion of civilians.  It means that violence, the rule of warriors and despotic chiefs, the condition of camps and warfare, of riot and tyranny, give place to Parliament where laws are made, and independent courts of justice in which over long periods, those laws are maintained. 

That is Civilization—and in its soil grow continually; freedom, comfort and culture.  When Civilization reigns in any country, a wider and less harassed life is afforded to the masses of the people.”

2013 is a political year in Panama.  We will elect a new President on May 2, 1014 for a period of five years.  I pray that my peers understand the value of freedom and the options it provides for a community.  Money alone will not solve our problems.  Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth alone.  Good Day.

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Husbandry

Husbandry is an English word which is sparsely used by the mainstream John Doe.  It has two main definitions:

1. The act of practice of cultivating crops and breeding and raising livestock; agriculture.
2. Careful management or conservation of resources; economy.

The roots of the word comes from Middle English husband (husbondri, from husebrand) which means “To use sparingly or economically; conserve, (e.g., To husband one’s energy“.)  It is a noun.

If you cherish studying the English language, I will expand the term further for your ready reference.  The English word husband, even though it is a basic kinship term, is not a native English word. It comes ultimately from the Old Norse word hsbndi, meaning “master of a house,” which was borrowed into Old English as hsbnda. The second element in hsbndi, bndi, means “a man who has land and stock” and comes from the Old Norse verb ba, meaning “to live, dwell, have a household.”

The master of the house was usually a spouse as well, of course, and it would seem that the main modern sense of husband arises from this overlap. When the Norsemen settled in Anglo-Saxon England, they would often take Anglo-Saxon women as their wives; it was then natural to refer to the husband using the Norse word for the concept, and to refer to the wife with her Anglo-Saxon (Old English) designation, wf, “woman, wife” (Modern English wife).

Interestingly, Old English did have a feminine word related to Old Norse hsbndi that meant “mistress of a house,” namely, hsbonde. Had this word survived into Modern English, it would have sounded identical to husband surely leading to ambiguities.

Having explained the second meaning of husbandry which is more obscure to most English-speaking persons, I’ll relate the term to this blog post.  As you all know, I’ve been a number man all my life working as an accountant, auditor, business administrator or comptroller.  The correct term is “number crunching”.  Originally I wanted to become a pilot when I grew up, but that’s another story for another day.

As much as I dedicated many hours working as a number cruncher for private and public companies, I was never a very good housekeeper.  Buying clothes, contracting maintenance people (plumbers, carpenters, painters, etc.), purchasing stoves or refrigerators or going to the supermarket to buy food, just wasn’t my cup of tea.  Usually when I engaged in those occupations, I overspent.  My numbers never added up and my wife had to come to the rescue, like the cavalry.

Aura, my wife, is a natural-born housekeeper.  She can squeeze 150 cents out of a dollar.  She knows how to keep our house in top shape with the minimum use of our scant resources.  She never took a college course on economy, but believe me, she will defeat the best economist from Harvard as far as keeping a house in order.  Towels, blankets, shirts, slacks, underwear, shoes, curtains, brooms, or mops last almost forever under her careful supervision.  She buys my clothes, my shaving cream, my deodorant and a zillion other stuff.  In her hands the dollars morph into a powerful buying instrument.

Below are several pictures of my wife removing the labels from three slacks she purchased for me last week.  We prefer the Haggar brand due to its reasonable price, durability and good looks.  By the way, Haggar popularized the term “slacks” for men’s pants in the 1940s.  This term, as cited by the Oxford English Dictionary, was used for “loosely cut trousers for informal wear,” in 1824.

Haggar slacks are distributed in Panama by Félix B. Maduro and sell for $45.00 apiece plus a 7 percent ITBMS tax.  They last more than twenty years, which is an extraordinary deal.  I learned that from my wife.  Okay, so much for slacks, now let’s show the pictures.  Here we go.

Snapshot of my wife Aura, in our master bedroom removing several labels from Haggar slacks recently purchased for my use. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The next time you think you know all the answers just because you graduated from Yale, Harvard, or Columbia, just to name a few; think again.  Your wife is a lot better managing money.  Let her handle the husbandry and save tons of money.  Good Day and Good Husbandry as well.

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Tourism in Panama

After the toppling of General Noriega’s military regime in 1989, Panama returned to democracy.  Under president Guillermo Endara Galimany, all democratic institutions were restored.  He’s considered “the president of democracy” in this country.  That was his most outstanding legacy.

One of President’s Endara’s numerous contributions, was organizing the groundwork for tourism in Panama.  He was convinced that this industry without smoke could rake in more greenbacks than the exportation of bananas or services of the Panama Canal.  He was right on both assumptions.

When I was working for the Panama Bureau of Tourism—1983-1985—(Instituto Panameño de Turismo), we worked really hard to come up with a ten-year tourist plan.  It was called Plan Maestro de Turismo (Tourism Master Plan).  We were assisted by tourist experts from the Organization of American States, OEA, (Organización de Estados Americanos).  It was a wonderful plan which created the foundation of today’s prospering tourist industry in this country known as Panamá, Puente del Mundo, Corazón del Universo, Espejo de las Américas (Panama, Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe, Mirror of the Americas).

Today, Panama is the leading tourist destination spot for Central and South American visitors.  Due to its airline’s commercial hub, thousands of visitors travel from all over Central and South America to buy in Panama.  Our Free Zone and lush stores are the best in the region, rivaling those in the United States and Europe both in quality and price.

David, Boquete, Isla Colón and Pedasí are the sweet spots for international tourism.  Panama has broken the landmark of one million visitors a year and has surpassed Costa Rica in ecotourism.  Colon is the home port for Carnival Cruises which organizes ocean cruises to Cartagena, Aruba, and Bermuda at competitive prices.  This is bringing in more tourists to start their Caribbean cruises from Panama.

The Panama Canal, the ruins of Panama Viejo, Portobelo, and the Casco Viejo are flooded by tourists with their P&S camera’s in hand taking pictures to their heart’s content.  Wave surfing at Playa Venado is becoming an international sporting event.  We are in the middle of a tourism boom, and the Panamanian people are smiling all the way to the bank.

If you feel that hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, torrid heat and other weather hazards are making your life miserable, hop into a plane and head South to Panama.  It will be a decision you will never forget.  Come on down, come to Panama.  Good Day.

Snapshot of a couple of tourists from Colombia who were visiting Panama during their honeymoon. They were elated to be in Panama. I met them at an airshow in the former Howard Air Force Base in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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China’s Economy is Flying South

After being an economic powerhouse for several decades, China is beginning to feel the pinch of the global recession.  The economy is losing its steam.

A nationwide real estate downturn, stalling exports and declining consumer confidence, have produced what a Chinese government official, quoted on the official government Web site this week, characterized as a “sharp slowdown in the economy.”

Though the Chinese economy continues to expand, construction workers are losing jobs in droves and retail sales grew last month at the slowest pace in more than three years.  Investments in fixed assets have increased more slowly this year than in any year since 2001.

China’s unexpected economic difficulties are starting to unnerve investors in world markets, especially commodity markets, as China is the world’s largest consumer of most raw materials and second largest consumer of oil.  The United States is the first oil guzzler.

The good news about this economic slowdown, is that the price of oil could go south and that would be a sign of relief to our drivers who are preparing to hit the road this summer.  The bad news is that fewer ships could transit the Panama Canal decreasing revenue.  This revenue is badly needed to pay the expansion of $2.5 billion currently underway at the international waterway.

It will be a nail-biting experience to monitor this lagging economic situation of the second largest economy in the world.  Good Day.

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Closing The Year With a Sweet Taste of Ice Cream

I’m writing this post blog at exactly 04:13 a.m.  It’s very early in the morning and it will be a long, hot, humid,  and noisy day.  It’s the last day of 2011, a year that will be remembered for the nearly collapse of the Euro and the perils of losing the European Union as an economic entity.   Spain and Greece are still having a hard time putting their house in order.

In Panama it has been an awesome year.  Our GDP grew 10.5 percent—the largest in Latin America.  Our employment rate was reduced to 4.5 percent which is full employment, and the inflation rate was contained at around 6 percent.  Not a bad batting average for such a small nation.  The Panama Canal expansion is moving along at full speed ahead, and so is the Metro or subway.  Both mega projects are expected to be completed by 2014—the end of President Ricardo Martinelli’s administration.

Panama City is rapidly modernizing, with a towering skyline and sprawling shopping malls that promoters hope will put it on the map of another Singapore.

The Panamanian monthly minimum wage was also improved in 2011.  It’s now within a range of $432.00 and $490.00; one of the highest in Central America.  Currently the monthly minimum wage varies between $376 and $416.  Better salaries mean that more dollars will pour into the economic system.  Our main concern will be to contain the inflation rate which usually activates when the money supply increases considerably in an economic system.  More dollars are assigned to the same amount of physical good and/or services.

During the year, my wife and I have had good and bad moments.  My attitude is to forget the bad days and to remember and savor the good ones.  I will surely remember my sojourns to the city to take pictures, spending time with “The Twisters”, and researching topics to include in my blog.

Yep, I will try to erase the bitter taste of the bad experiences of the year and remember the sweet taste of the good times that 2011 gave me.  I will remember them like the delicious sweet taste of an ice cream cone.

Happy New Year to all Lingua Franca’s readers wherever you are.  Thank you for coming to the site to read or view our daily posts.  I can’t express my feelings of accomplishment for keeping this blog for almost five years now, writing every day about something.  Your comments and your page views keeps me going.  I look forward to a healthy, prosperous, and creative year 2012.

Below is a picture of a delicious ice cream cone, in case you like this kind of sweet treats.  Enjoy this last day of the year and may the next one brings more enjoyable and sweet experiences.

Snapshot of an ice cream parlor at El Dorado Mall in Panama City, Panama. As you can see, the price of this ice cream cone is $1.25 apiece. Ouch! Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Infrastructure Projects in Panama

Snapshot of the expansion of Friendship Road of four lanes from Panama City to Albrook in the former Canal Zone. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

During the last three decades Panama has intensified its infrastructure enhancement projects.  Important public works are currently underway across the nation.  Some of the most important ones are the Metro Bus, the expansion of the Panama Canal, the expansion of the Transisthmian Highway from Panama City to Colon, the expansion of Tocumen Airport, the construction of the Rio Hato Airport, the expansion of the David’s Airport, and the construction of the Colon Airport.

International airports, a complex networks of modern highways, sophisticated telecommunication system, a ultramodern canal, a state of the art subway system, and a booming tourist industry will lay the foundations and consolidate Panama as an important commercial hub in the region.  The adoption of English as a second language will complement the country’s strategy to emerge as a First World country.

The whole country is under a construction frenzy in a race to finish all these megaprojects before President’s Martinelli’s administration is over.  He calls them the “imperdonables”; meaning he will not forgive himself for not fulfilling his political campaign promises.  So far he’s making considerable progress.  He still has three years to keep his political commitments.  Ricardo Martinelli was elected the 49th President of Panama in 2009.  He has made the word “cambio” pivotal to his administration.

On May 3, 2009, Ricardo Martinelli won the national elections by a landslide, with over 60 percent of the votes compared to his closest rival, Balbina Herrera, who received about 36 percent. This was the second-largest majority in Panamanian history, and the largest since 1989.He was sworn in on July 1, 2009.

Since coming to office, Martinelli has introduced a number of measures designed to alleviate poverty, including a $100 monthly pension for the elderly, an increase in the minimum wage, and subsidies for students to meet the cost of uniforms and supplies.  The Panamanian people are having a hard time keeping up with the swift and constant changes being made across the nation.  Too little time, so much to do.

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A Loose Lion in Panama

The lion that I’m referring here is not the kind you will find the in grasslands of the Serengeti in Africa or in your city’s zoo.  Nope, this is the name of a recently built casino in the neighborhood of El Dorado called, “The Golden Lion”.  Sorry if I misguided you.  (Tongue–in-cheek).

After Noriega’s military regime was toppled on December 20, 1989 by U.S. military forces, the new government pledged to steer the nation into a new direction.  Twenty-one years of military dictatorship had done the country of lot of harm.  In fact, during the Noriega’s regime, the country went backwards at least two decades.  It was time to change course and launch the country into the Twenty-First Century.

Then President Guillermo Endara Galimany, committed his government to follow the following policies:

• Consolidation of the democratic process.
• Transform the Panama Canal into a profit generating entity based on effectiveness and efficiency.
• Design legislation to make Panama the most important commercial hub in the region.

His administration was successful in all three goals.  We are currently a full democratic nation, having had four democratic elections since Noriega’s fall.  The Panama Canal is a money-making machine and is presently being modernized to operate large-sized ships known as Post-Panamax.  The cost of the expansion is $5.25 billion and is expected to be finished by 2014; just in time to celebrate the centennial of this important international waterway.

Panama has had a continued economic growth for several decades.  It’s now one of the fasting growing economies in Latin America.  This small Central American country is betting its future on the Panama Canal, international banking, the insurance industry, communications, commercial aviation, construction and tourism.

We have surpassed Costa Rica in the tourist field which was one of the challenges of government authorities.  New hotels are being built, even as we speak and casinos are sprouting all over the country like mushrooms.  Casinos are also becoming stars performers in Panama as more and more foreign visitors are exploring our country.  Panama allows several types of legal gambling—parimutuel betting, horse racing and casinos.  Panama casinos are a haven to the adventure minded tourists and locals alike. Most of the big casinos are located in downtown, Panama City; in fact it houses 22 of the 36 casinos operating in the country.

The casino industry in Panama is slated to grow leaps and bounds especially in the wake of the construction project to widen the Panama Canal and the building of a modern subway in Panama City. Investments in casinos will most likely increase in the upcoming years.

Below are several pictures of one of the multiple casinos found in Panama City.  I loved the theme used by the casino:  a golden lion with Chinese features.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the main entrance wall of The Golden Lion Casino located in the neighborhood of El Dorado, in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A wide-angle shot of the entrance of the casino. My P&S camera has the excellent capability of capturing the red color superbly. I like it. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Take notice of the beauty of the bright red color of the wall. The building looks very impressive. I have never been inside. Not much of a gambler myself. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of an impressive white lion flanking the entrance of the casino. Chinese people love these lions. It's part of their culture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This is the other white lion at the entrance of the casino. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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