LatinNews Daily - 4 October 2024

*Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has announced various measures which he claims will boost the country’s economy. He said that over the last week the comptroller general’s office had endorsed US$1.2bn in contracts which had been held up for “months and years”. He also said that the private sector would offer 4,000 jobs through job fairs organised by the labour ministry, which he said would be combined with the ‘Mi Primer Empleo’ programme aimed at boosting youth employment. He also said that the government-run banks Banco Nacional de Panamá and Caja de Ahorros would offer US$145m in mortgage loans which he described as “an important addition” for those seeking to “access credit to buy houses.” The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting that Panama’s GDP will grow 2.5% in 2024, down from 7.3% in 2023 – a slowdown attributed in part to the closure of the massive Cobre Panamá copper mine last year, following the supreme court’s decision to strike down a new contract amid public anger.