Panama City, Panama

Panama City is the capital of the Republic of Panama. The city is most famous as one of the entrances to the Panama Canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As a result, Panama City is among the wealthier and more developed cities in Central America. However, Panama City still has problems with population growth and poverty.

Landscape

Panama City is located in the center of the country, on the Pacific Ocean. The city is sheltered from the Pacific by the Gulf of Panama and the Peninsula de Azuero (Azuero Peninsula) several miles to the west. The center of modern-day Panama City is the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter), which is located on a small peninsula. The city spreads east into the port of Balboa, where the city ends due to the Canal Zone. To the north and east, city growth is constrained by the mountains and three protected national parks: the Parque Natural Metropolitano (Metropolitan Nature Park), the Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas (Marine Exhibitions Center), and the Parque Nacional Soberania (Sovereignty National Park). These parks are rigorously protected from development; the forests in each park help provide the needed water that flows into the canal and are essential to the canal's operation. Panama City covers a broad swath of coastal land that extends for 275 square kilometers (106.2 square miles).

Ancon Hill overlooks Panama City from the southwest. The hill is one of the most prominent high points in the area, at a little over 200 meters (654 feet) in altitude. Out in the Bahía de Panama (Bay of Panama) are a number of islands close to Panama City, which are a part of the Archipelago de las Perlas (Archipelago of the Pearls).

The climate in Panama City is tropical. Due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the city has wet and dry seasons. The wet season lasts from mid-April to December; the dry season occurs between January and mid-April. The city receives, on average, 1,500 millimeters (60 inches) of rain per year. The temperature does not vary much between the two seasons. The average monthly temperature varies between 25.6 and 27.8 degrees Celsius (78 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity.

Because of its small population, Panama contributes only a very small percentage of the world's global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the country is highly vulnerable to climate change. Panama City, and Panama as a whole, has seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, and storms. This has most strongly affected the nation's poor, who rely of subsistence farming.

People

Panama City is the most populous city in Panama, with an estimated 1.938 million inhabitants in 2022. The official language of Panama is Spanish, but Panama City is home to a large number of English speakers as a result of the long-standing presence of American troops in the Panama Canal Zone. According to US Central Intelligence Agency estimates, about 48.6 percent of the Panamanian people are Roman Catholic, but there are a number of other religious groups within Panama City. Panama City has sizable Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim minorities. Small numbers of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus, Buddhists, and Bahais reside in metropolitan areas like Panama City as well.

Ethnically, a majority of the city is of Spanish, African, or Amerindian descent. However, there are Lebanese and other Middle Eastern immigrants in the city. Panama also has one of the largest Chinese populations of any Latin American country. A great many of Panama's Chinese residents live in Panama City's Barrio Chino (Chinatown).

Economy

Panama City's strategic location next to the Panama Canal has allowed it to become one the premier service economies in Latin America. Panama City is one of the largest financial centers in Latin America, and the financial services industry is one of the major revenue streams for the Panamanian economy. The growth of the banking industry in Panama City is often credited to the adoption of the United States dollar in 1941. The adoption of the US dollar in Panama has been associated with stability and investment. Panama has become known as a legal offshore tax haven and has faced repeated accusations of aiding money launderers.

In addition to the banking industry, Panama City receives fees from the Panama Canal, which helps guarantee a steady stream of revenue into the Panamanian economy. The economic upturn resulting from the financial services sector and the canal has resulted in a construction boom in Panama City.

However, while Panama City helps maintain the country's relatively high gross domestic product (GDP), the people of Panama still battle unemployment. The unemployment rate in Panama was about 8.8 percent, as of 2022. About 26 percent of the country's population lives below the poverty line.

The government of Panama has worked to spur investment in the city. In October 2006, voters approved a measure to expand the size of the Panama Canal to allow larger transport ships to pass through it. Despite delays and cost overruns, the expansion was completed in 2016 and cost approximately US$5.4 billion in total. It was expected that the enlarged canal would provide increased revenue for the Panamanian economy.

Landmarks

The most famous landmark in all of Panama City is the Panama Canal. The 77-kilometer (48-mile) canal traverses the Isthmus of Panama and connects the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The system of locks, channels, and artificial lakes that compose the Panama Canal help make it one of the engineering marvels of the modern world. Visitors and tourists can see the Pacific entrance of the Canal from the Puente de las Américas (Bridge of the Americas), which is a 504 meter (1,654 foot) long bridge that spans the Panama Canal. Over 35,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.

Near the canal are several magnificent parks. The Parque Natural Metropolitano (Metropolitan Nature Park), the Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas (Marine Exhibitions Center), and the Parque Nacional Soberania (Sovereignty National Park) are very popular attractions. Their pristine and beautiful walking trails contain native flora and fauna. The Marine Exhibitions Center is run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), which is dedicated to the research of biological diversity in tropical rain forests. The STRI has been instrumental in preserving the natural habitat surrounding the Canal Zone and has a worldwide reputation as a leading research center for biodiversity.

Panama City itself has several attractions. The most famous area is the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter), where the city was rebuilt in 1673. The quarter was designated a World Heritage Site in 1998 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The center of Casco Viejo is the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was built in the eighteenth century. Around the tip of the peninsula is Las Bóvedas (the vaults), a waterfront promenade that juts out into the harbor of the Bay of Panama. The nineteenth-century Teatro Nacional (National Theater) is also located in the Casco Viejo and is still in use today.

History

Panama City was founded by Pedro Arias de Ávila on August 15, 1519. In the sixteenth century, Panama City served as a major transit point for the transportation of gold and silver between Spain and South America. Increasingly rich and prosperous, Panama City became a major target for foreign privateers and pirates. In 1671, the English privateer Henry Morgan led a particularly destructive attack against the city.

In 1673, the Spanish rebuilt the Casco Viejo. In 1821, Panama joined other Latin American countries and declared its independence from the Spanish Empire. Soon afterward, Panama became part of a larger federation with Colombia.

Panama City drastically increased in importance following the California Gold Rush of 1848. With a railroad connecting Panama City to Colón on the Atlantic coast, Panama City became the departure city for thousands of people trying to reach the California gold fields. It is estimated that over 500,000 people traveled through Panama City between 1848 and 1869.

By the late nineteenth century, several countries wanted to build a canal connecting Panama City with Colón. A canal through the Isthmus of Panama would greatly decrease shipping distances around the world. In 1880, a French company began to build a canal from Panama City. The project stalled after malaria and yellow fever caused the deaths of 22,000 workers.

In 1903, Panama separated from Colombia with American support. Later that year, the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty was signed, which gave the United States the right to build and manage the Panama Canal. The US government set up a series of bases and medical hospitals to aid in the construction of the canal. The presence of the Americans greatly benefited Panama City. The US government initiated a water sanitation program and eradicated tropical diseases, such as malaria. Waves of immigrants came to Panama to help build the canal. After the Panama Canal opened in 1914, Panama City prospered as a major port of call for world trade.

During World War II, the creation of larger American military bases in the Canal Zone brought greater economic prosperity to the city. However, in the postwar years, tensions began to arise between Panamanians in the city and the Americans living in the Canal Zone. Many Panamanians began to feel like the Americans treated Panamanians as second-class citizens in their own country. These tensions resulted in massive rioting on January 9, 1964, when American troops fired on Panamanians demonstrating in the streets of Panama City. This incident is now commemorated as Martyr's Day, a national holiday in Panama.

After the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 established a timeline for the American transfer of the canal over to Panama, the city became a major area for international banking. A great deal of this money was coming from nearby Colombia, where drug traffickers were laundering their profits through Panama City banks. Despite repeated demands from the United States to end these transactions, Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega allowed the money laundering to continue. In 1989, the United States invaded Panama and deposed Noriega. During the invasion, it is estimated that three thousand civilians died in Panama City, and large sections of the El Chorillo barrio (neighborhood) were destroyed by fire.

Since the American invasion, Panama City has rebuilt large sections of the city that were damaged by the fighting. The city has experienced a large construction boom from the continued success of the banking industry. The expansion of the Panama Canal has accommodated ever larger amounts of traffic, which should continue to help grow the economy.

In 2017, a Trump-branded hotel and condo building in Panama City attributed its declining finances to real-estate mogul Donald Trump's presidency in the United States. Its attempt to cut ties led to failed arbitration, an altercation involving private security personnel, and a Panamanian government investigation; however, the building was ultimately renamed in 2018.

Panama City later hosted the Catholic Church's World Youth Day 2019. In addition to presiding over a mass for hundreds of thousands in a city park, Pope Francis visited the Las Garzas de Pacora youth prison and a church-run HIV group home in the capital.

Bibliography

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Maurer, Noel, and Carlos Yu. The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal. Princeton UP, 2011.

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"The Latest: Pope Touches Down in Panama, Meets First Couple." Associated Press, 23 Jan. 2019, www.apnews.com/aab9a259d9c2411d864372ad048119a1. Accessed 19 Apr. 2019.

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