Pushy president Martinelli riles Panama's politics

Even his friends describe Panama's president, Ricardo Martinelli, as impatient, occasionally discourteous, and given to outbursts.

Yet his tenacious drive is also transforming the capital of the country, with its growing number of 60- and 70-story oceanfront high-rises and namesake canal that is crucial to world trade. Workers are rushing to build a nine-mile-long metro rail line.

The project has helped Martinelli rebound in popularity from a brief free fall earlier this year caused partly by his rupture with the vice president.

Source: Miami Herald