Panama

Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli criticised the media during a speech in the National Assembly on January 2, one of his first public appearances of the year. According to local news sources, Martinelli contrasted his administration's successes throughout 2011 with the increasing criticism from media business owners over taxes. This comes on the back of government audits of major news organizations, with some speculating that these are related to content which has been critical of the government. We believe a free press is essential and any concrete signs of government intervention could cause us to reassess our political and business environment outlooks.

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