Excerpt: Panama seems to be attracting a lot of retirees from the United States these days. Are you trying to take business away from Florida?
This cake is big enough so everybody can have a little piece of it.
The reason why everybody is moving to Panama is we speak your language, and we carry your currency. It's a safe country, it's nearby, there are 16 nonstop flights daily from the United States to Panama. So there are many things we offer - and it's cheap; it's affordable.
Tourism is a growing industry for Panama these days. Once again, is your country trying to step on Florida's turf?
No, we're competing more with our Central American neighbors, especially Costa Rica.
How do the recent turmoil on Wall Street and the specter of a recession in the United States affect Panama's economy?
Everybody says that when the United States economy sneezes, all of Latin America gets a cold. That hasn't been the case, luckily. Our structures are standing on their own feet. We're finding out now that Panama has been undervalued in its real estate markets and other areas.
So you think there will be economic stability in Panama even if the United States has a recession?
We certainly hope that we will not be affected. So far, so good.
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