:Panama Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Panama
Type:
centralized republic
Capital:
Panama
Administrative divisions:
9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca);
Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama,
San Blas*, Veraguas
Independence:
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November
1821)
Constitution:
11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983
Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the
Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
National holiday:
Independence Day, 3 November (1903)
Executive branch:
president, two vice presidents, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) currently being
reorganized
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Guillermo ENDARA (since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989);
First Vice President Ricardo ARIAS Calderon (since 20 December 1989, elected
7 May 1989); Second Vice President Guillermo FORD Boyd (since 20 December
1989, elected 7 May 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
government alliance:
Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ;
Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), Arnulfo ESCALONA; Arnulfista Party (PA),
Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER;
opposition parties:
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ricardo ARIAS Calderon; Democratic
Revolutionary Party (PRD, ex-official government party), Gerardo GONZALEZ;
Agrarian Labor Party (PALA), Carlos LOPEZ Guevara; Liberal Party (PL),
Roderick ESQUIVEL; Popular Action Party (PAPO); Socialist Workers Party
(PST, leftist), Jose CAMBRA; Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT, leftist),
Graciela DIXON
Suffrage:
universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held on 7 May 1989, annulled but later upheld (next to be held NA May
1994); results - anti-NORIEGA coalition believed to have won about 75% of
the total votes cast
Legislative Assembly:
last held on 27 January 1991 (next to be held NA May 1994); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (67 total)
progovernment parties:
PDC 28, MOLIRENA 16, PA 7, PLA 4
:Panama Government
opposition parties:
PRD 10, PALA 1, PL 1; note - the PDC went into opposition after President
Guillermo ENDARA ousted the PDC from the coalition government in April 1991
Communists:
People's Party (PdP), mainline Communist party, did not obtain the necessary
3% of the total vote in the 1984 election to retain its legal status; about
3,000 members
Other political or pressure groups:
National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO); National Council of Private
Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE);
National Civic Crusade; National Committee for the Right to Life
Member of:
AG (associate), CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES,
LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Jaime FORD; Chancery at 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC
20008; telephone (202) 483-1407; the status of the Consulates General and
Consulates has not yet been determined
US:
Ambassador Deane R. HINTON; Embassy at Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado
6959, Panama City 5 (mailing address is Box E, APO AA 34002); telephone
(507) 27-1777; FAX (507) 27-1964
Flag:
divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white with a blue
five-pointed star in the center (hoist side) and plain red, the bottom
quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star
in the center
:Panama Economy
Overview:
GDP expanded by roughly 9.3% in 1991, following growth of 4.6% in 1990 and a
0.4% contraction in 1989. Delay in coming to terms with the international
financial institutions on policies to implement structural reform in Panama
generated uncertainty in the private sector and tempered the pace of
business expansion in 1991. Public investment was limited as the
administration kept the fiscal deficit below 3% of GDP. Unemployment and
economic reform are the two major issues the government must face in
1992-93.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $5.0 billion, per capita $2,040; real growth rate
9.3% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.0% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $1.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of $140 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
$380 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
bananas 28%, shrimp 14%, sugar 12%, clothing 5%, coffee 4%
partners:
US 44%, Central America and Caribbean, EC (1991 est.)
Imports:
$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
capital goods 13%, crude oil 12%, foodstuffs 10%, consumer goods, chemicals
(1990)
partners:
US 37%, Japan, EC, Central America and Caribbean, Mexico, Venezuela (1989
est.)
External debt:
$5.4 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 7.2% (1991 est.); accounts for almost 9.4% of GDP
Electricity:
1,135,000 kW capacity; 3,397 million kWh produced, 1,372 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
manufacturing and construction activities, petroleum refining, brewing,
cement and other construction material, sugar mills
Agriculture:
accounts for 12% of GDP (1991 est.), 25% of labor force (1989); crops -
bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane; livestock; fishing; importer of food
grain, vegetables
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $516 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $582 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $4 million
Currency:
balboa (plural - balboas); 1 balboa (B) = 100 centesimos
Exchange rates:
balboas (B) per US$1 - 1.000 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Panama Communications
Railroads:
238 km total; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 160 km 0.914-meter gauge
Highways:
8,530 km total; 2,745 km paved, 3,270 km gravel or crushed stone, 2,515 km
improved and unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal
Pipelines:
crude oil 130 km
Ports:
Cristobal, Balboa, Puerto de La Bahia de Las Minas
Merchant marine:
3,004 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,314,623 GRT/73,325,176 DWT;
includes 20 passenger, 22 short-sea passenger, 3 passenger-cargo, 1,046
cargo, 205 refrigerated cargo, 175 container, 65 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 111
vehicle carrier, 9 livestock carrier, 4 multifunction large-load carrier,
340 petroleum tanker, 177 chemical tanker, 23 combination ore/oil, 101
liquefied gas, 8 specialized tanker, 659 bulk, 35 combination bulk, 1 barge
carrier; note - all but 5 are foreign owned and operated; the top 4 foreign
owners are Japan 36%, Greece 8%, Hong Kong 8%, and the US 7%; (China owns at
least 128 ships, Vietnam 4, former Yugoslavia 4, Cuba 4, Cyprus 5, and the
republics of the former USSR 12)
Civil air:
5 major transport aircraft
Airports:
112 total, 102 usable; 39 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
domestic and international facilities well developed; connection into
Central American Microwave System; 220,000 telephones; broadcast stations -
91 AM, no FM, 23 TV; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite ground stations -
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
:Panama Defense Forces
Branches:
note - the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) ceased to exist as a military
institution shortly after the United States invaded Panama on 20 December
1989; President ENDARA has restructured the forces into a civilian police
service under the new name of Panamanian Public Forces (PPF); a Council of
Public Security and National Defense under Menalco SOLIS in the office of
the president coordinates the activities of the security forces; the
Institutional Protection Service under Carlos BARES is attached to the
presidency
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 661,101; 455,412 fit for military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $75.5 million, 1.5% of GDP (1990)