Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
8th IFF Panama Reinforces Its Industry Dimension.
The 8th IFF Panama has further reinforced its industry dimension, with a record number of submissions to the Primera Mirada pix-in-post sidebar and more sales agents and festival programmers attending the event, which this year includes the Locarno Industry Academy and a new Fipresci Award for the 12-pic Stories from Central America and the Caribbean competition.
2019 boasts a record number of guests and, according to the organizers, advance ticket sales are higher than ever.
23 films were submitted to Primera Mirada, covering different genres (documentary, hybrids, genre films) from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Panama.
“The selection is powerful and has strong voices,” says Karla Quintero, co-ordinator of IFF Panama’s Industry and Educational Programs. “The films have a consolidated discourse and pay testimony to incredibly sensitive filmmakers in whose films the region’s identity definitely shines through.
Source: Variety
In Panama, corruption looms over May presidential elections.
On Sunday May 5, Panama will hold general elections. Over 2.7 million voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots for president, 71 members of the country’s unicameral National Assembly and local representatives. This year’s elections will be the sixth since the democratic transition in 1994.
The election will likely result in a defeat for sitting president Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019)—who is prohibited from running for a consecutive term—and the Panameñista Party (PP). The Varela administration is blamed for the economy and is at the heart of a corruption scandal involving Odebrecht. Laurentino Cortizo, from the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), seems poised to return the party founded by dictator Omar Torrijos (1968-1981) to the Palacio de las Garzas.
Source: The Global Americans
Panama president cheers China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, hoping to offer gateway.
Six weeks before the elections, the only pollster that has published its surveys so far gave the PRD candidate an advantage that doubles the popularity of Romulo Roux, from Democratic Change, who is in the second place with 23.1 percent of vote intention.
Roux is followed by Jose Isabel Blandon (9.1), from the ruling Panameñista Party, who is escorted by the independent candidates Ana Matilde Gomez (7.9) and Ricardo Lombana (5.3), Saul Mendez (1.3), from the Broad Front for Democracy (FAD), and Marco Ameglio (1.0), who is also an independent candidate.
Source: Prensa Latina
Looking to invest in Panama? Check out these industries.
As the financial year nears its midway point, and you take a look at how your investments have been doing, it’s time to get your next moves in order. If you’re looking to make a splash in international investing, investing in Panama would be a great start, too.
It goes without saying that shipping and logistics are the safest bet for investing in Panama, in 2019 or otherwise. However, 2020 looks like it could be another banner year with the Panama Canal Expansion allowing a ton of new Post Panamax traffic through, which means big business for shipping and logistics companies. It also means big investment opportunities with fuel companies, land freight, and ancillary Canal business all throughout the service sector. This is not just a great current investment, but one of the best sectors for sustained future growth as well.
Source: International Relocation Firm Blog
