LatinNews Regional Monitor: Caribbean & Central America - 01 November 2018

* Panama’s unicameral national assembly has given final approval to a 2019 draft national budget. The budget approved by the legislature is for US$23.66bn, slightly higher than the US$23.31bn proposed plan presented by the government led by President Juan Carlos Varela. Panama is holding a general election in May next year, with Varela’s term due to end in July 2019. So, the 2019 draft budget will have to be executed by the new government, which led legislators to approve higher budget allocations to areas such as social spending as well as to infrastructure spending to ensure that these plans are continued under the new government. The approved draft budget, which now goes to President Varela for approval, points to a fiscal deficit of 2% of GDP and economic growth of 6.9% in 2019.

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