Caribbean & Central America - November 2011 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Following the dismissal of Vice-President Juan Carlos Varela and the subsequent unravelling of the Panamanian ruling alliance, Deputy Economy Minister Frank de Lima officially took over the economy portfolio on 30 September. De Lima thus took office exactly one month after his boss, Alberto Vallarino, a member of the opposition Partido Panameñista (PP), had quit his post in solidarity with Varela [RC-11-10]. The appointment of De Lima, a cardholder of President Ricardo Martinelli’s Cambio Democrático (CD), was in line with Vallarino’s recommendations and has assuaged fears that the political strife at the top would translate into economic instability.

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