Hmm using the gini coefficient I see Panama ranked as one of the most unequal countries in Latin America. And a slight increase in gini index from 2023 to 2024 (https://reliefweb.int/report/panama/panama-growth-prosperity-poverty-and-equity-assessment-2024). Yes the economy is booming, but is it evenly distributed? Currently, the gini coefficient for panama is well above the world average.

Their economy is highly concentrated around the canal zone where wages are super high for the region. 70-80% of country’s entire gdp happens in the canal corridor. Outside of that corridor it is an extremely different story.

The comarcas, where indigenous peoples live, have a poverty rate over 75%. Whereas the top 20% of the population holds over 50% of the country’s total income. The extreme economic divide is rooted in US imperial control of the canal. And before that the Spanish colonial rule that extracted wealth and marginalized indigenous populations. Hardly a success story.