PANAMA CITY, May 23 (Prensa Latina) The Panamanian government has ordered conditional cash transfers to families in poverty to begin today, a measure viewed with suspicion by economists.
The second such payment so far this year is through the Department of Social Development (MIDES), which will distribute seven million $18,170 to 34,776 vulnerable households in hard-to-reach locations.
In this regard, the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, pointed out that the beneficiaries who top up through the social key card will also receive their money through Mides between June 6th and 17th.
For this group, the payout is 48 million 983 thousand 340 dollars for 156 thousand 609 people.
According to the president, it is an important economic injection that will relieve the country, especially the population that needs it most.
Several analysts, for their part, offer a different take on the matter. For economist Luis Morán, part of the increase in Panama’s public debt, which reaches almost $43 billion, is linked to Covid-19 relief programs.
The expert classified these efforts as inefficient, which is reflected in the recent popular movement protests, he noted.
Advisor René Quevedo also appreciated that the labor crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic in Panama, was the axis of demands from social organizations.
Evidence of this, he said, is that around 375,000 people have been forced to receive the so-called digital voucher, a monetary aid provided by the executive branch, to take on the expensive basic family basket.
Placing more emphasis on investments and reducing operating costs is Morán’s recipe for strengthening the economy and finances at a time of rising public debt.
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