Ariel Cajar
@arielcajar.bsky.social
28. Panama.
Tesista de arquitectura. Amante de las artes y la creatividad. Aficionado al urbanismo, temas sociales y lingüística.
Tesista de arquitectura. Amante de las artes y la creatividad. Aficionado al urbanismo, temas sociales y lingüística.
Panama is 100% a MAGA-occupied government and I'll die on this hill.
October 3, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Panama is 100% a MAGA-occupied government and I'll die on this hill.
All the same, there's no "our hemisphere". The "Western Hemisphere" is nothing. The Americas are not safe under the United States influence or outright control.
April 18, 2025 at 4:35 PM
All the same, there's no "our hemisphere". The "Western Hemisphere" is nothing. The Americas are not safe under the United States influence or outright control.
We the people of Panama don't want to bow to the Fox News anchor. It is the government that is carrying out the shameful role it is. Not without casualties, though: there's been a round of resignation at the Foreign Relations Ministry during the last few days. The Deputy Minister already quit.
April 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
We the people of Panama don't want to bow to the Fox News anchor. It is the government that is carrying out the shameful role it is. Not without casualties, though: there's been a round of resignation at the Foreign Relations Ministry during the last few days. The Deputy Minister already quit.
🇵🇦We export bananas! So Janosch (German children author) was not too off about "Panama smells like bananas". They mostly go to the Netherlands, apparently. Otherwise, though, we're mostly a services country. We could sell ecotourism if we invested on it, but we have work to do. Costa Rica is ahead.
April 17, 2025 at 10:46 AM
🇵🇦We export bananas! So Janosch (German children author) was not too off about "Panama smells like bananas". They mostly go to the Netherlands, apparently. Otherwise, though, we're mostly a services country. We could sell ecotourism if we invested on it, but we have work to do. Costa Rica is ahead.
Experiences are not universal. Grenada celebrates their invasion day for whatever reasons it may be. Cheers to them; I respect the self-determination of peoples. But we just don't. Maybe a few *very* pro-American people, but some of them give it more credit for Panama's boom than the Canal reversion
April 17, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Experiences are not universal. Grenada celebrates their invasion day for whatever reasons it may be. Cheers to them; I respect the self-determination of peoples. But we just don't. Maybe a few *very* pro-American people, but some of them give it more credit for Panama's boom than the Canal reversion
It is so disliked here for how it was carried out and all the casualties and disappearances that happened (this means civilians even after discounting paramilitary pro-Noriega fighters). People hated and still hate Noriega, but the US isn't celebrated either. And it's a national mourning day.
April 17, 2025 at 10:36 AM
It is so disliked here for how it was carried out and all the casualties and disappearances that happened (this means civilians even after discounting paramilitary pro-Noriega fighters). People hated and still hate Noriega, but the US isn't celebrated either. And it's a national mourning day.
Totally shameful (or should I say shameless) proposal from Bolota. In a different, actually rule-of-law country with better checks and balances, this could had cost him his seat after review from an ethics comittee. Unconstitutional and tailor-made law. He's unfit for the charge.
April 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Totally shameful (or should I say shameless) proposal from Bolota. In a different, actually rule-of-law country with better checks and balances, this could had cost him his seat after review from an ethics comittee. Unconstitutional and tailor-made law. He's unfit for the charge.
Bukele doesn't own Trump. Trump owns Bukele. El Salvador is a US unincorporated territory under Governor Bukele; not a sovereign nation. Trump probably aims for the other two dollarized LatAm nations to follow suit: Panama & Ecuador. Already got Panama to comply and accept more US military presence.
April 14, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Bukele doesn't own Trump. Trump owns Bukele. El Salvador is a US unincorporated territory under Governor Bukele; not a sovereign nation. Trump probably aims for the other two dollarized LatAm nations to follow suit: Panama & Ecuador. Already got Panama to comply and accept more US military presence.
Granted, not only we are dollarized, but a lot of our banks are actually dependent on foreign accounts, a bunch which are US-based. Out of fear of sanctions which might freeze them, we comply. Of course, it isn't 1989. Doing that would put a noose on every country with Panamanian accs and shell co's
April 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Granted, not only we are dollarized, but a lot of our banks are actually dependent on foreign accounts, a bunch which are US-based. Out of fear of sanctions which might freeze them, we comply. Of course, it isn't 1989. Doing that would put a noose on every country with Panamanian accs and shell co's
The ones with dollarized economies are the most exposed ones imo. Thus El Salvador, Ecuador and ourselves here in Panama. And in our case, a lot of psyops is employed against us to not be "resentful leftists" and not betray "our creator" (implying the US is).
April 14, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The ones with dollarized economies are the most exposed ones imo. Thus El Salvador, Ecuador and ourselves here in Panama. And in our case, a lot of psyops is employed against us to not be "resentful leftists" and not betray "our creator" (implying the US is).
Maybe because we're a mixed/non-White majority (great replacement), multicultural country (Democrat policy) and have subsidized public colleges (ditto)? Won't mention our public health bc it isn't universal plus it is collapsing & financially plundered rn, though.
April 14, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Maybe because we're a mixed/non-White majority (great replacement), multicultural country (Democrat policy) and have subsidized public colleges (ditto)? Won't mention our public health bc it isn't universal plus it is collapsing & financially plundered rn, though.
And beyond the environmental concerns, even from an economic perspective, it looked very cynical to present it as a solution for everything and threaten us with major economic depression if we closed it because *we have other more sustainable business opportunities and haven't seized them*.
April 14, 2025 at 12:17 AM
And beyond the environmental concerns, even from an economic perspective, it looked very cynical to present it as a solution for everything and threaten us with major economic depression if we closed it because *we have other more sustainable business opportunities and haven't seized them*.
There's also a lot of blame on Panama for not using more of its strategic position to attract viable non-US businesses and non-dollarized investments. For example, a few years ago politicians tried to sell us the idea of a giant open pit mine as a panacea for our economy. It didn't sit well with us.
April 14, 2025 at 12:15 AM
There's also a lot of blame on Panama for not using more of its strategic position to attract viable non-US businesses and non-dollarized investments. For example, a few years ago politicians tried to sell us the idea of a giant open pit mine as a panacea for our economy. It didn't sit well with us.
Of course, the fear of politicians like Mulino as well as US-aligned local elites discounts the fact that choking Panama economically could have negative consequences for foreign third parties who store their money on Panamanian accounts and shell companies. Panama would *indeed* have leverage.
April 14, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Of course, the fear of politicians like Mulino as well as US-aligned local elites discounts the fact that choking Panama economically could have negative consequences for foreign third parties who store their money on Panamanian accounts and shell companies. Panama would *indeed* have leverage.
Besides, many local banks have their reserves backed abroad in the US, probably because it's cheaper than importing dollars into such a small country (4 million people of which a third live in Panama City). So angering Washington could nuke Panama's economy.
April 14, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Besides, many local banks have their reserves backed abroad in the US, probably because it's cheaper than importing dollars into such a small country (4 million people of which a third live in Panama City). So angering Washington could nuke Panama's economy.
Panama has a major dependence on the US because of things such as the Balboa, a currency with no paper bills of its own that relies on federal reserve notes instead. It became even weaker when the gold standard was abandoned, as it became backed by the dollar itself alone rather than a mere peg.
April 14, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Panama has a major dependence on the US because of things such as the Balboa, a currency with no paper bills of its own that relies on federal reserve notes instead. It became even weaker when the gold standard was abandoned, as it became backed by the dollar itself alone rather than a mere peg.
Trump's late 2024 remarks, however, took him by surprise. And he's trying to find a way to remain a pro-US president while leaving a full transfer of the Panama Canal and the defunct Canal Zone to the US as well as permanent US military bases off the table. But those goals are mutually exclusive.
April 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Trump's late 2024 remarks, however, took him by surprise. And he's trying to find a way to remain a pro-US president while leaving a full transfer of the Panama Canal and the defunct Canal Zone to the US as well as permanent US military bases off the table. But those goals are mutually exclusive.
Don't trust me on this, but my personal view on Mulino is that he wants to serve two lords. Him being an anti-communist and a former anti-Noriega "civilista", plus willing to work with the US from the get go, he likely expected Trump to be a potential good partner.
April 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Don't trust me on this, but my personal view on Mulino is that he wants to serve two lords. Him being an anti-communist and a former anti-Noriega "civilista", plus willing to work with the US from the get go, he likely expected Trump to be a potential good partner.
I'm not saying this as a right winger myself, which I am not. I'm just stating the facts. Panama's foundation under a conservative president, Manuel Amador Guerrero, plus Cold War-era intelligence work, really pushed Panama into right wing territory across various topics.
April 13, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I'm not saying this as a right winger myself, which I am not. I'm just stating the facts. Panama's foundation under a conservative president, Manuel Amador Guerrero, plus Cold War-era intelligence work, really pushed Panama into right wing territory across various topics.
A country where a lot of people have polarized opinions against labor unions and the concept of unionization (though in such old school right wing way the working class instead tends to lean towards protectionism and asking for top-down minimum wage raises)
What communism? We aren't even centrists.
What communism? We aren't even centrists.
April 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
A country where a lot of people have polarized opinions against labor unions and the concept of unionization (though in such old school right wing way the working class instead tends to lean towards protectionism and asking for top-down minimum wage raises)
What communism? We aren't even centrists.
What communism? We aren't even centrists.