All articles | Radar Panamá

Why does Panama not produce global stars to match its talent?

Sep

Why does Panama not produce global stars to match its talent?

In short: Panama has won four Olympic medals in its history, the latest Atheyna Bylon's silver at Paris 2024. It has Mariano Rivera and Rod Carew in baseball's Hall of Fame, Roberto Durán in boxing's, twelve Grammys for Rubén Blades and the documented birthplace of Spanish-language reggae. Yet in 2026 the national team left the World Cup with three defeats and no goals, only five Panamanians opened the Major League Baseball season and none plays in Europe's five big leagues. With a 160 million balboa budget for Pandeportes, more per head than its neighbours, the question is not how much…

Can Panama be a digital hub without digital talent?

Sep

By Deilys Romero

Data, Professional Services & Technology

Can Panama be a digital hub without digital talent?

In short: Panama has seven submarine cables, with TAM-1 landing in 2026, sixteen data centres and 192 multinationals under the SEM regime. What it does not have, according to employers themselves, is people: 65% of companies say they cannot find the talent they need, according to ManpowerGroup 2026, and the "People" pillar is the country's weakest in the Network Readiness Index, 86th of 133. The Technological University graduates about 670 systems engineers a year, 16% of 15-year-olds reach the basic level in PISA mathematics and the SENACYT budget fell 25% in 2026. The question is whether a country can be…

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Data, Real Estate & Construction

Who does Panama build for?

In short: Panama has a housing deficit of 150,000 homes according to the Housing Ministry, or 322,755 according to the Chamber of Commerce, concentrated in the comarcas and in Darién. At the same time, construction permits grew 43.5% in the first four months of 2026, new home sales fell 34% in 2025 and 2,536 units were left unsold. Foreign investment in housing exceeded 841 million dollars in 2025 and buys 57% of everything priced above 120,000 dollars. With an average salary of 756 dollars a month, a 120,000 dollar home equals thirteen years of gross income. The question is who…

Does Panama have enough doctors for its medical tourism?

Sep

By Deilys Romero

Data, Health & Wellness

Does Panama have enough doctors for its medical tourism?

In short: Panama promotes itself as a medical tourism destination, with two hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International and an industry the government valued at 400 million dollars in 2020. The same country has 1.7 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants according to INEC, below the Latin American average of 2.6; Panama province has 23 doctors per 10,000 people and the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca 1.5. It trains between 100 and 120 specialists a year, in 2026 it offered 71 residency places for 475 applicants and three calls to bring in foreign specialists ended with one or two candidates. The question is not…

Does Panama depend too much on the Canal?

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Business, Economy

Does Panama depend too much on the Canal?

In short: the Panama Canal delivered 2.965 billion balboas to the National Treasury in fiscal year 2025, a record, and directly accounts for around 3% of GDP, 7.7% when indirect effects are included, according to the IDB. The 2023-2024 drought cut transits by 20% and the State still collected more, because the Canal Authority raised tolls and auctioned slots. With the transport sector growing 14.5% in 2025, the most of any sector, the question Panama avoids is what would happen if the volume stopped coming back: through another drought, a Mexican corridor or a political dispute with the United States.…

Residency by investment: Panama versus Paraguay, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Portugal and Spain

Sep

By Deilys Romero

Business, Economy

Residency by investment: Panama versus Paraguay, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Portugal and Spain

In short: the residency-by-investment map changed in two years. Spain closed its golden visa in April 2025, Portugal removed the real estate route in 2023 and in May 2026 raised the citizenship wait to ten years, Uruguay lifted its tax holiday threshold to about two million dollars, and Paraguay launched in April 2026 an investor pass with permanent residency from 70,000 dollars. Panama, with 300,000 dollars in a new property and permanent residency in 30 days since September 2026, sits in the middle on money and at the top on speed. This comparison puts eight countries in one table: minimum…

Qualified investor in Panama: new amounts, routes and timelines under the September decree

Sep

By Deilys Romero

Guides, Professional Services & Technology

Qualified investor in Panama: new amounts, routes and timelines under the September decree

In short: since 16 September 2026 Executive Decree 17 has been in force, replacing Decree 722 of 2020 and setting the new thresholds for the qualified investor permit: 300,000 dollars in a new property or a purchase promise, 500,000 in a resale property, in Panama Stock Exchange securities or in a deposit with state banks, and 750,000 in a fixed-term deposit with private banks. It remains immediate permanent residency, with a 30-day resolution and the obligation to keep the investment for five years. Between July 2025 and June 2026 the State issued 268 certificates worth 113.6 million dollars, 87% of…

What GEO and AEO are and why they matter in Panama

Sep

By Deilys Romero

Guides, Professional Services & Technology

What GEO and AEO are and why they matter in Panama

In short: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the work of getting ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot or Google's AI summaries to mention and cite a company when someone asks about its sector. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the part of that work focused on answering specific questions directly. Neither replaces classic SEO: they extend it. In Panama they matter more than in other markets because categories are small, many queries arrive in English from outside the country, and an AI answer that names three companies leaves out the rest of the sector. What GEO and AEO mean TermWhat it stands forWhat…

Radar AI: which SUV artificial intelligence recommends in Panama

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Business, CompaniesRadar AI

Radar AI: which SUV artificial intelligence recommends in Panama

In short: Radar Panamá asked two artificial intelligence engines, Perplexity and Brave AI, which SUV to buy in Panama, in Spanish and English, with ten questions per engine. When the question is generic ("which SUV to buy"), the AI answers with Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Mazda, and no Chinese brand appears. When the question mentions Chinese brands or JETOUR, the brand appears in every answer, always with its 7-year or 200,000-kilometre warranty and its distributor. In total, JETOUR was mentioned in 10 of the 20 answers. The most useful finding: one engine got the distributor's name and the warranty…

Panama’s creators and streamers with the biggest audiences: ranking and what they can earn

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Lifestyle, Trends

Panama’s creators and streamers with the biggest audiences: ranking and what they can earn

In short: no Panamanian creator publishes what they earn, so the only honest ranking is by audience, which is public. On YouTube the singer Boza leads with 1.3 million subscribers, followed by Jesús Nunca Falla (1 million) and Eliza Ibeth (917,000). In live streaming the scene is small: the Panamanian streamer with the biggest audience on Kick, voltexd, has around 26,000 followers and 210 average viewers. With those figures and each platform's public rates you can estimate what each level generates, and the conclusion is clear: in Panama creators live off brands and events, not subscriptions. Ranking of Panamanian creators…

UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev, Yan vs. Dvalishvili and Panama’s Joselyne Edwards one step from the title

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Lifestyle, Sports

UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev, Yan vs. Dvalishvili and Panama’s Joselyne Edwards one step from the title

In short: the big UFC event of the rest of the year is UFC 333, on October 24, 2026 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with two title fights: Alexander Volkanovski defends the featherweight belt against undefeated Movsar Evloev, and Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili close their trilogy for the bantamweight title. For Panama, the story is Joselyne "La Pantera" Edwards: number one in the women's bantamweight rankings after three straight wins, waiting for the UFC to confirm her title shot against Kayla Harrison. UFC 333: two titles in one night FightWeightWhat is at stake Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar…

When Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three come out in Panama

Sep

By Daniela Bohórquez

Lifestyle, Shows

When Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three come out in Panama

In short: Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, the two most anticipated films of the rest of the year, open on the same day: 17 December in Panama, according to the Cinemark listings, and 18 December in the United States. Doomsday brings Robert Downey Jr. back as the villain Doctor Doom, and Dune: Part Three closes Denis Villeneuve's trilogy. The Doomsday trailer drew around 503 million views in 24 hours, one of the biggest debuts in history. Before that come Street Fighter and Clayface in October and Jumanji in November. Dates may change; Cinemark notes this on its listings. Avengers:…