Page 16 - Preview (PA)

COUNTRY OVERVIEW
borders. Since 2003, Panama, the United States, and more than a dozen other countries from the region have collaborated annually in the PANAMAX defense exercises focused on ensuring security of the canal and, by extension, of Panama.
Out of chaos
During the past century, Panama has been governed by a variety of military officials, tribunals, dictators, and elected presidents. Leadership has changed hands by virtue of elections as well as political and military coups, both violent and peaceful, by natural death and otherwise. In short, rule has been chaotic; however, since 1999, Panama has settled into a representative democracy headed by a president and has held four presidential elections followed by orderly transitions of government.
The political structure of Panama is modeled largely on that of the United States and includes three main branches—executive, legislative and judicial. The president, vice-president, and the president’s cabinet comprise the executive branch, with the president and vice-president elected on a single ballot by popular vote to five- year terms and the cabinet appointed by the president. Likewise, the 71 deputies of the Legislative Assembly are elected by popular vote to five-year terms. The judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court with nine magistrates and nine alternates appointed by the president to ten-year terms, subject to legislative approval, and a tiered system of local tribunals and circuit courts with judges at each level appointed by the judges of the next higher level.
Multiplicity breeds stability
Panama has a multi-party system with more than ten similarly sized political parties, none of which is large enough to gain power on its own. Consequently, the various parties must collaborate in
President Roosevelt discussing America’s task with workmen at Bas Obispo, Panama Canal, on November 31, 1906.
Vicente Fox Quesada Founder of Centro Fox, President of Mexico (2000-2006)
A New Outlook in Latin America
In the ebb and flow of global economic development, regional engines for growth form around strong nation-states that are tuned in to the needs of the market and work to change with them. The United States and Europe spurred the world economy forward throughout the latter 20th century, but former Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada envisions a shift away from the hegemony of Western superpowers in the new century.
The “old engines of world activity and economy are tired and not performing anymore,” says Fox as he reviews the exceptional rates of growth in what were, until recent years, considered to be developing nations. Large states like Mexico and Brazil have matured into their roles as keystones of the Latin American economy, while Panama, Columbia, and others embrace strategies that infuse the region with high-speed growth. Fox sees the future of the global economy in the “new economies” of this part of the world, as well as in East Asia and Africa.
“We have been successful, but we need to be better.
We need to fine-tune this model. The real challenge is how
we make this cluster successful through technology and by being more focused on the creation of a unique product.”
The former president has continued to cultivate a more integrated and globally competitive Latin America since leaving office in 2006. He is an outspoken advocate of development through better technology in the region, and he advocates for education and leadership through Centro Fox, his policy center in Guanajuato. Centro Fox partners with major corporations and universities to create the next generation of Latin American leaders.
14 STRATEGY