Panama’s Martinelli: beacon of hope or just another caudillo?

Has Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli put his country on track to be the region's first flat-tax, open and competitive market economy, as he promised?

Or is he just another caudillo, out to grow government and his own power? These are questions posed by columnist Mary Anastasia O’Grady.

And they are being hotly debated these days in Panama City, and the answers matter to more than Panamanians. As a self-proclaimed believer in markets in a region dominated by politicians from the left, Martinelli promised to convert his country into a magnet for investment and a place of opportunity for his people. Failure to keep that pledge could damage the cause he stands for well beyond his own borders.

Original source: Wall Street Journal