Endemic problems with the water supply are being compounded by the effect of El Niño, and short-term measures are being tried while the root of the problem is left unaddressed.
EDITORIAL
The editorial in Nacion.com is clear: "... The problem is a shortage of water. It's time to talk about a crisis, without any exaggeration." If meteorologists are not wrong in predicting the lack of rain, four major areas in the Greater Metropolitan area (GAM) "...
"It is unacceptable that in a country with enviable economic growth and being the fifth country in the world with the most rainfall" there is no secured access to clean water for its inhabitants.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP):
PROVIDING THE COUNTRY WITH DRINKING WATER REQUIRES SPECIAL EFFORT
The conceptual advantage that is raising the country above its Central American neighbors is demonstrated by the implementation of the project for Line 3 of the Panama Metro between Albrook and Ciudad del Futuro.
EDITORIAL
The presentation of the environmental impact study for Line 3 of the Panama Metro, funded by the International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and prepared by URS HOLDINGS is a clear sign of the will of Panamanians to continue strengthening the foundations of economic and social development through the construction of communication routes, which is in keeping with what is clearly taught by the history of mankind: communication generates progress.
Naive or something else... ? The European Union will be paying for a local consultant to diagnose the economy of Central American countries, identify potential risks and determinants of development in the region, and propose actions in this regard, in a timeframe of only 55 days.
The required procurement is part of the Regional Project for Support of Central American Economic Integration and Implementation of the Association Agreement (PRAIAA), which is the entity responsible for the hire and the one with the required funds.
In Costa Rica the high electricity rates are driving out foreign investment while indigenous opposition impedes progress of the construction of a 650 MW hydroelectric power plant.
It is time that the region starts to balance conservation policies with the needs of development so as to allow an escape from poverty for those who are currently held down by it and who at the same time are holding the rest of society hostage.
Productivity, an indicator of the relative capacity of wealth creation, has been stagnant in the region for thirty years.
Manuel Hinds' analysis in an article published in Elsalvador.com, notes that "... Latin America has two problems with productivity. One is that it is low compared to developed countries. The other is that, with the modest exception of Chile, it has not been increasing over the past thirty years.
Rulers should be aware that a very large percentage of their people do not satisfy their hunger eating sovereignty but by eating rice and beans.
It seems that the current interest of the elected president of Costa Rica is to maintain the highest possible tension with Nicaragua.
Editorial
Undoubtedly, any gesture of rapprochement with the government of President Ortega will entail political costs for Luis Guillermo Solís, the next president of Costa Rica. But it is clear that this - the beginning of his term - was the best time to make that gesture, promoting a release of tension over the border dispute in the Caribbean area.
The only routes to success that exist, "whether they are right wing or left wing, are those requiring structural reforms to boost value, and prudence in the administration of the State".
"In Latin America, ... not all countries take advantage of the bonanza in the same way ... [the bonanza] in prices of raw materials, low interest rates, easy access to the international financial markets and in receiving FDI are abundant ...
Current policies against global warming are generating higher energy costs hurting the poorest in particular.
An article by Bjørn Lomborg, published in Nacion.com, notes that "Energy generation using solar and wind power received $6o billion in grants in 2012 alone. This means that the world spent $60 billion more on energy than was necessary. And as the climate benefit achieved amounted to a mere $1.4 billion, this means basically that $58.6 billion of the subsidies was wasted. In addition, a further $19 billion in subsidies was spent on biofuels which basically provide no climate benefit. All that money could have been used to improve health care, hire more teachers, make better roads or reduce taxes. "
Now we transport thousands of tons of goods in fast trucks, we dispatch proformas and invoices online ... and there are still customs agencies.
EDITORIAL
The controversy which arose in Guatemala over the proposed creation of the Agile Import Window (VAI by its initials in Spanish) is as old as the world. Not going too far back into the past, we know that when in the late nineteenth century cars began to circulate, in many places the speed of their movement was restricted so that they would not go faster than a horse and buggy, and there were many who protested that this invention would put drivers of carts out of work along with horses and cattle breeders.
The Nicaraguan business delegation that visited China returned with objective grounds for believing in the realization of the project by the company HKND.
An article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni summarizes the opinion of Arturo Cruz, an analyst, diplomat and scholar, and member of the Nicaraguan delegation recently returned from China, where they met the businessman Wang Jing who revealed information on the relationship between him and his company HKND with the Chinese business political system.
Economic growth in the last decade and the foreseeable growth in the near future presents great opportunities for power generators.
Latin American economies will need to invest $1.3 trillion in energy over the next 20 years, said the vice president of Energy at the Development Bank of Latin America-CAF, Hamilton Moss, during a presentation in Montevideo of the report "Energy: An insight into the challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean", sponsored by CAF and which involved eight regional organizations.
The stagnation of competitiveness in Latin America demonstrates a need for structural reforms and investments which increase productivity.
• The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14 indicates that competitiveness is stagnating in Latin America and reforms and investments to ensure future economic growth are long overdue.
• Excellence in innovation and robust institutions are increasingly important factors for achieving competitiveness.
Corruption, insecurity and political instability are the main factors preventing the country from making progress.
This was revealed by the competitiveness ranking report prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in which the country fell three places ranking 111 out of the 148 countries evaluated.
"... Honduras seems held back in the 12 indicators assessed by the institution, but some factors stand out such as ease of financing, bank stability, trade openness, technology transfer and a high rate of school enrollment at primary level," noted an article in Laprensa. hn.
The infrastructure and road network built with funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation should be the focus of new development projects in the area.
An article in ElSalvador.com reports that Jose Angel Quiros, former executive director of Fomilenio, said "I have no information on new projects in the north, but without a doubt thought must be given to how to maximize that infrastructure and road network for the country's productive sectors ... the region's strategic programs north of the country, carried out with the first funds from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) between 2009 and 2012, must be diversified and enhanced with new works. "