LatinNews Daily - 23 August 2022

* Panama’s leading business lobby Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá (CCIAP) has questioned the government’s proposed state budget for 2023, complaining that it fails to recognise the current economic, financial and fiscal reality facing the country. It says that this calls for an important reduction in operating expenses in order to boost funds for targeted public investment which would support job creation, among other things. The proposed budget presented last month is for US$27.16bn, up from US$25.29bn approved for 2022. At the time, Finance Minister Héctor Alexander explained the increase in part on the need to cover the results of the negotiations taking place between the government led by President Laurentino Cortizo and protests groups over soaring living costs, and also address the international impact of the Ukraine war. However, CCIAP complains that a significant part of the increase is earmarked for pensions, public payroll and extra budget for the legislature, none of which it says reflects the measures of containment and austerity which the government had announced in response to the current crisis.

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