PANAMA · PUBLIC FINANCE
Key Facts
- Power Index Panama ranks 11th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 34.2 points (October 2026 edition).
- What is happening Panama’s Assembly passed the US$35,111.7 million 2027 budget on Friday, 30 October, by 49 votes to 18.
- Why it matters State bodies may skip open bidding on some purchases under US$1 million, a change that affects US suppliers.
- The numbers Spending rises 0.6% over the modified 2026 budget; investment grows 22% while operating costs fall 5%.
- Who is who Felipe Chapman is finance minister; President José Raúl Mulino now decides whether to sign the bill.
- What to watch Mulino’s decision on the bill, and the special purchasing rules each state body must write for comptroller approval.
- What it means for you US suppliers to Panama’s Metro, airport and utilities may face direct buying, not open bids, below US$1 million.
Panama’s Assembly has sent a US$35.1 billion budget to the president after a 49 to 18 final vote. The bill widens a purchasing exception that opposition lawmakers say weakens oversight.
Panama’s National Assembly passed the 2027 state budget, US$35,111.7 million, by 49 votes to 18 on Friday, 30 October. The text, known as Bill 644, now goes to President José Raúl Mulino to be signed into law.
For US readers the figure needs no conversion, because Panama uses the US dollar. The Panama budget matters most to suppliers, since it lets some state bodies buy below US$1 million without open bidding.
What the Assembly Approved
The Panama budget totals US$35,111.7 million, 0.6% above the modified 2026 budget of US$34,913.8 million, the finance ministry says. Real investment rises 22%, while operating spending falls 5%.
The ministry, known as MEF, targets a 2027 deficit of 2.9% of GDP, below the 3% cap in the fiscal responsibility law. It says the deficit topped 7% in 2024 and stood at 3.7% in 2025.
Public works receives more than US$1 billion, up US$217 million on 2026. Metro de Panamá, the capital’s subway, gets US$874 million, and water works about US$456 million.
The ministry also says the budget sets aside almost US$900 million less for debt interest. Its July bill put debt service at US$5,496.1 million, down 30.8%, which it ties to the maturity calendar.
Finance Minister Felipe Chapman said the law was met and that this “means more investment to meet citizens’ needs.” He has also said the budget aims to improve efficiency and transparency in the use of state funds.
The US$1 Million Purchasing Exception
Article 370 was added during the second debate, which ran from Wednesday, 28 October, into Thursday, 29 October. It lets listed state bodies buy technical services, spare parts and equipment under US$1 million without the public procurement law.
Covered bodies include Metro de Panamá, the water utility IDAAN, the power-grid company ETESA and Tocumen airport. The education, public works and government ministries are also listed.
A body may use it only in urgent or priority public-interest cases, and splitting contracts to stay under the limit is banned. Each body must list what it needs and adopt a special procurement regulation.
The comptroller general’s office, Panama’s state audit body, must approve each regulation before it appears in the Official Gazette. Three deputies proposed the change, and opposition benches rejected it as direct contracting inside a budget law.
What It Means for You
US firms selling to the Metro, the airport or the utilities may face direct purchasing for deals under US$1 million. Compliance teams should record why each sale qualified as urgent or of public interest.
Investors in Panama’s dollar bonds get a budget barely above 2026, with the deficit target under the legal cap. Lower interest costs follow the maturity calendar, the ministry says, not a cut in the debt itself.
Related coverage includes the second-debate vote and the Cabinet’s US$186 million changes. More is on the Panama hub, in the Panama economy guide, the Panama politics guide and on the Panama City page.
What Is Not Known
When Mulino will sign the bill, and whether he accepts article 370 as passed, is not known. No official timeline appeared in the finance ministry or Assembly statements checked.
How many state bodies will use the exception, and how much they will buy under it, is also unknown. The vote split by party was not available in the sources checked.
The Assembly’s own record of the vote was not available online at the time of writing. The 49 to 18 count therefore comes from several independent news accounts of the session, with no abstentions reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Panama’s 2027 budget been approved?
The National Assembly passed it in the third and final debate on Friday, 30 October, by 49 votes to 18. President Mulino must still sign it before it becomes law.
How big is Panama’s 2027 budget in US dollars?
The budget totals US$35,111.7 million, or about US$35.1 billion, 0.6% above the modified 2026 budget. Panama uses the US dollar, so no currency conversion is needed.
What is the US$1 million purchasing exception?
Article 370 lets listed state bodies buy technical services, spare parts and equipment under US$1 million without the public procurement law. They may use it only in urgent or public-interest cases.
What does the budget spend on investment?
Real investment rises 22%, and the finance ministry lists US$874 million for the Metro and over US$1 billion for public works. Water treatment and supply gets about US$456 million.
Sources: Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF), third-debate approval of the 2027 budget, 30 October 2026 and 2027 budget bill, 30 July 2026; National Assembly of Panama, Bill 644 and the plenary sessions of 28 to 30 October 2026 (asamblea.gob.pa; official record not accessible to automated readers) (all accessed 31 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief