

I have been going to Panama for years because I made friends with a boat full of Panamanians at the legendary Yacht Week party in Greece. They drunkenly invited me to visit Panama, and I was crazy enough to actually come. Most Westerners, when they think of Panama, envision a third-world country with little infrastructure and poverty, and I was no exception. When I landed in Panama for the first time, I was shocked to see the skyline. If Panama were in the U.S., it would have the third-largest skyline after Chicago. The infrastructure and the economy were first-world, and I was rapidly educated on what Panama was actually about. For years, I just went down to party with friends or stopped by for a day or two on my way to South America.
Then, COVID happened, and for the first time, I realized I needed a backup residency. I remembered that Panama had one of the easiest and cheapest residency programs, which was called the Panama Friendly Nations Visa. As soon as Panama opened its borders during COVID, I made the trip and secured my residency. Two weeks after I finished my residency, the government of Panama, with no notice, canceled the Friendly Nations Visa program. The Friendly Nations Visa was wildly popular among international expats because it was quick, cheap, and Panama was a fun international hub to visit. The ending of the program crushed many local businesses and started pushing expats to other countries like Paraguay, where expats took their money to spend and invest. The ending of this program still makes no sense, and industry experts in Panama still can't give a logical reason for its ending.


For years, I have been witnessing the decline of a once-great Latin American economy due to corruption and one bad policy after another. How can a country with the Panama Canal, which generates billions in profit each year, be doing so poorly with roads that don't work? Government corruption is rampant, and the majority of the country's workforce now works for the government. Any politician with sway will have their whole family set up with no-show jobs. This list of all the no-show jobs was leaked a year ago, and with rising inflation, it caused massive protests, bringing the country to a standstill. I had to make an investment decision during this time period, and the choice was either Panama or Paraguay. I went with my gut and chose Paraguay, which ended up being the right move.
Pretty much every Panamanian I know has never said anything good about the government, but I never really paid attention because I came south to escape the non-stop political clown show of my country and enjoyed being politically ignorant. Unfortunately, now I can't be naive because the country has been protesting for a week now, with every road in the city shut, bringing the country and economy to a standstill. The people of Panama are protesting the approval of a mining bill which will grant a 40-year mining contract to Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals and allow them to have open-pit copper mines and essentially mine anywhere in the country, including protected areas, with complete legal immunity. The people of Panama were not consulted prior, and many are accusing politicians of taking millions in kickbacks.
The mining issue is just the straw that broke the camel's back. Panamanians suffered the worst COVID lockdowns in Latin America, which caused 80% of restaurants and even the Hard Rock Hotel to go out of business. The government received billions from the U.S. in aid, but it was not distributed to the people, nor was there stimulus for businesses that were forced to close. On my last trip to Panama, I couldn't believe how expensive eating out was, and it was essentially the same prices as back in the states. Panamanians make very little, and wages have been decreasing, so I saw this social unrest coming and actually detailed it in some videos.
During the last protest over inflation and economic problems, the government was able to dissolve the protests by promising price controls on basic food and medical necessities. Price controls are the beginning of the end and never work; they are a stop-gap measure. So, here we are again with the whole populace of the country on the streets. Unfortunately, this problem isn't unique to Panama; inflation is global, and many countries will shortly have social and political upheavals as populations can't keep up with inflation. Protect yourself with Bitcoin and backup residency; you will thank me later.
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