This is the end of Panama’s prosperity.
But at least Panama doesn’t have to put up with Gringo
exploitation any longer—Jimmy Carter solved that!
No. This is the end of the American Era.
There never was any prosperity tied to Panama and the Panama Canal. I was there for three years and can attest to that part of the bogus legend.
The canal ran itself all the way to the end of US occupation with no real profits. Whatever the ships paid...basically covered the normal operating costs. Any upgrades or major modifications to the canal for the eighty-odd years? All covered by Congress.
Everything that the US handed over to Panama as part of the treaty (even going back to 1980)? Ruined within three years on average. They envisioned that everything was making money and the gringos were stealing it from them. As they took over various pieces of the canal operation...they found that they’d never have the capital to keep it running. This is one reason why China is going to invest the money into the Nicaragua Canal....knowing that it’s built right and sustainable.
Even the Howard runway area...which they envisioned as a major hub of passenger travel and tourism? Stagnant...it can’t attract enough people to sustain the costs involved.
The only way that Panama got ahead? Troops there spent money and it filtered down into the middle-class. That twenty-odd million dollars a year really made a difference on the city and locals.