Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale - photo from TimeInc.net 

Panama made recent international headlines as the set location of the upcoming chapter in the James Bond film franchise.  Ironically, Panama’s backdrop is serving only to play the role of Bolivia, the supposed locale where the scenes are taking place.  This speaks volumes about the international conception of Panama versus the reality that is Bolivia. 

While crumbling parts of Panama City’s antique Casco Viejo district and rough and tumble Caribbean port town Colon may be able to convince viewers they are in one of South America’s saddest nations, the truth is that this is hardly representative of the current state of affairs in Panama. 

Let’s compare (stats from world bank):

GDP
Panama: $31B
Bolivia: $10B

2007 GDP GROWTH 
Panama: 11.2% (2nd best in nation’s history)
Bolivia: 4.5%

PER CAPITA INCOME
Panama: $9,000
Bolivia: $2,900

These stats alone cannot stress the differences between these nations.  Panama City is a boom town.  The Canal and derived businesses are an enormous, permanent source of income.  The Panama City skyline is dotted with hundreds of cranes erecting high rise condos, office buildings and warehouses.  Employment for service level workers is so plentiful that hiring is reminiscent of the go-go 90s in the U.S. when employers resorted to signing bonuses for pizza boys. Times are good. 

Bolovia by contrast is an economic mess, highly dependent on foreign aid and holds the dubious distinction of being in the Guinness Book of Records for several economic disasters, including one-day inflation of 20,000 in 1985.  A giant part of the population lives below the poverty level and the economy is heavily driven by agriculture and low-level industry.  The country is stabilizing, but is decades or more beyond even semi-modernized economies.

The reason I stress this point is that to most of the outside world, the perceived differences between these nations is slim.  Most folks cannot comprehend the fact that Panama, or at least parts of it, are as modern as most first-world trade cities.  For Panama to play on screen as Bolivia is as false as Ben Affleck playing the role of a complex leading man.

Panama has a long way to go before the world will instantly understand that it is NOT Bolivia.  But that change is coming at the super fast pace of globalized business.

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Filed under: Culture on February 28th, 2008