Judged:
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Panama has become a place where someone who has been in the country for two years, knows something more than someone who has been there a year. Most of them can't speak a word of Spanish, come from dubious backgrounds (Panama lets almost anyone in for a price)...
The big thing to do is push real estate. In Panama, like everywhere else, property values are sinking and people are trying to get the hell out - but they never really made themselves a part of the country in the first place.
Many came to Chiriqui and other provinces in the country as a place to retire. They had their secure "income" in the USA and they cold buy a home in Chiriqui and exploit a few Panamanians for only a fraction of the price as they could in California or Texas. Then the crash came in 2008 (real estate is still falling worldwide) and here were people with no work permits, little if any knowledge of Spanish and debts up their pretentious rear-ends. Off they went, back to California, Texas, or where ever...
Most of the people in Panama would not be allowed to relocate to respectable countries like Costa Rica, Uruguay, etc.
Panama: Full of one eyed Jacks.
Libra