I share the words of the President of the Assembly about the National Team.

It is a pride to see how a group of boys, many of them from humble homes, with effort, discipline and sacrifice, achieved something that rarely happens: uniting an entire country.

This spirit of unity is precisely what our country needs.

I want to give this National Assembly as an example of this for the work carried out, both in the debate and in the approval of the Economic Substance Law.

I am very clear that this House is a political body. Different ideologies coexist here. Different visions of the country. That strengthens democracy. That is why it is fair to recognize and be grateful when differences are capable of becoming agreements for the benefit of Panama.

I especially want to highlight the work of Congressman Eduardo Gaitán, who chaired the Economic Affairs Commission. We all know that he maintains political positions different from those of the Government and that did not prevent him from conducting the debate in a professional, serious and fair manner.

You, the Economy Commission and the benches present, receive my congratulations and recognition.

That achievement demonstrates something very important. When Panama works together, Panama advances.

Dear audience, two years ago I became president with the determination to accelerate pending projects, give continuity to major works, stopped and abandoned, launch new initiatives, and quickly fulfill the commitments we assumed with Panamanians during the campaign.

It is not necessary to go into detail that the economic reality of the country was much more complex than we imagined. We found much more than a fiscal problem. We received a disordered State and institutions that had lost the capacity to execute.

Although all this represented an extremely serious situation, the most delicate problem was another. Panama was beginning to lose something that takes decades to build and just a few months to destroy: trust. This may seem like an abstract concept. It may sound like a term reserved for economists or financial markets.

But, although it is not always perceived immediately, trust has very concrete consequences in people's daily lives.

Due to the country model that we have built, Panama lives on your trust. Investment, credit, trade, logistics and tourism depend on it. Also the employment and well-being of Panamanians. And it is known that when the good name disappears, everything begins to slow down.

I tell you that during those first days of government I asked myself many times how we were going to deliver for the country in those circumstances. The alternatives that economics professionals brought me transferred the cost of the adjustment to those who were not responsible for what happened.

One of them, which I flatly rejected, was to reduce the payroll by 20% and cut subsidies. The spreadsheets showed that it worked quickly, but ordinary Panamanians disappeared from the equation. Because behind each of those people, there was an older adult, a mother or a student who was left helpless.

The other was to increase taxes. It was the quickest solution to raise more money. But again the bill had to be paid by the worker, the entrepreneur, the middle class, the small businessman, the national producer.

I told you very clearly: I was not elected to transfer the problem to the Panamanians. I was chosen to solve it.

So, as a country man, I went to the farm for a weekend. I needed to get away from meetings, reports and presentations.

And, look, sometimes the field teaches much more than any office. As I walked through the farm I understood something very simple. When a land is full of weeds, there is no point in buying the best seeds in the world. Absolutely nothing will grow. First you have to clean the earth, then remove the soil and prepare it.

Only then is it worth sowing to have something to reap.

I went back to the city and called Felipe Chapman. I told him what my plan was: put order. He understood it, and told me that, in economic terms, it was a progressive adjustment with a strong gradualism of economic responsibility with a social sense.

As you can see, field analogies are always simpler than economic explanations.

Thus we began a profound process of organizing public finances. Clean up the State accounts, recover fiscal discipline and restore Panama's credibility before the world.

We did not do it to satisfy the risk rating agencies or the banks. We did it because we knew that losing international trust would have meant more expensive loans for families, less investment, less employment and a higher cost of living for all Panamanians.

But it also had its positive side because we reactivated paralyzed works, we finished abandoned projects that represented an urgent need for thousands of families.

It was 1.5 billion dollars to pay debts, updates and completion of abandoned works.

We put the house in order with the Panamanians inside, without expelling anyone!

As I will show, in the midst of the storm, we were able to execute programs and works. Investing money better We did a lot!

I begin by telling you a fact that shows how we were more efficient: The application to compensate for the increase in fuel, which we implemented for transporters, cost 70 thousand dollars and was developed by the AIG. A similar one cost the previous government more than 5 million, hiring a private company.

The order of accounts allows for more than 700 public works in execution throughout the national territory.

One of them, Metro Line 3, represents much more than infrastructure, it is a historic transformation of Panama Oeste. A social integration project.

The underground section that begins in Farfán passes under the Canal and reaches Albrook, it is 87% advanced, with just 500 meters left before the Panama Tunneling Machine reaches its destination. Last week I was at the tests and I felt immense pride. I know that the deputies of the last Infrastructure Commission visited the project and felt the same.

I want to recognize the workers who are making a historic work possible in the region, and I ask for warm recognition for them. Pure Panamanian labor.

The Fourth Bridge has a progress of 38%. We can see the work in Cerro Sosa. Also the advances in foundations, towers and viaducts. I want to remind you that when we came to government this work was less than 1% complete. Today it has 2,000 workers and we will add 2,000 more in the next 6 months.

A short time ago I had the opportunity to personally visit the work. I saw hundreds of Panamanians working with pride. Later I found out that some foreigners were mistreating them and we expelled them. And if it happens again, I will do it again, because Panamanians are respected in my government.

I want to remind you that we delivered the Chitré Interchange, Manuel saw that it was possible. Today it is there, for the benefit of the people.

We finished works such as the Mariano Bula, the High Performance Center of both the City and Changuinola, the Toco Castillo and we are finishing the Armando Dely Valdez, among many other works, to enhance Panamanian talent.

In health we have completed abandoned hospitals such as Colón, Bugaba, Río Hato and the polyclinics of San Miguelito, Guararé, among others. We continue to advance in the Children's Hospital in Panama, the Metetí Hospital in Darién and we put 140 medicines with discounts of up to 96% in the MINSA Pharmacies. Each of these new hospitals delivered are first world and a great advance in the quality of life of those most in need.

I want to highlight two works that represent a personal commitment and a response to hundreds of patients who for years waited to be heard. The first will be a source of satisfaction for the Panamanians of Chiriquí, the Ngäbe Buglé Region and Bocas del Toro, as well as for the 14 deputies from those provinces who are with us today:

This year we will inaugurate the first Public Cancer Treatment Center in the interior of the country, with a state-of-the-art linear accelerator. It will be at the Bugaba Hospital - Dr. José Félix Espinosa Barroso, and hundreds of Cancer patients will no longer have to travel to be treated in Panama.

The construction of the new National Oncology Institute in the City of Health is also advancing. We hope to inaugurate this work next year, to strengthen patient care and provide better conditions to the extraordinary professionals who save lives there.

In public works we have 360 ​​projects underway in all the provinces of the country. From the rehabilitation of the Pan-American Highway, between Yaviza and Panama, to the modernization of the section between Loma Campana and Santiago. I especially want to highlight Darién: no government invested so much in a province that remained forgotten for decades.

We are building 100 new wattle bridges, and they are not weak wooden structures, but solid concrete structures and resistant materials. They are not bridges for the inauguration photo, but for the well-being of those who pass through.

The restoration of the historic Church of the Black Christ of Portobelo is also advancing, a commitment that I made with the people of Colon during the campaign. The square, the temple and the Chapel of San Juan show important advances, recovering their historical, architectural and spiritual value. We hope to deliver this work on the plaza in October and the church with the chapel in December.

We finished the Northern Hydraulic Ring, and we are with 21 drinking water works and we carried out 650 leak repair interventions.

I know there is still a lot to do, and I tell them, looking them in the eyes: we will do it.

Now, I want to tell you that the results of the work done, in macroeconomic terms, are very good: Substantial reduction in the fiscal deficit and deceleration of the rate of indebtedness in recent years. The highest country risk reduction on the continent in 2025.

Many of you may be thinking, "President, that all sounds great... but I'm still struggling to make ends meet." And they have the right to think so. Because at the end of the day no Panamanian lives off of the fiscal deficit, that is the reality.

But countries function just like families. When a family spends more than it earns for years, first it uses its savings, then the cards, then the loans and, finally, the moment comes when someone knocks on the door to collect and it is time to pay.

At the beginning of 2024, Panama was on the verge of losing investment grade. Had it continued down that path, the country would have paid more to finance itself, and that cost would have reached people's pockets: more expensive mortgages, more expensive loans to start or plant a farm, less investment and, consequently, less employment.

As you can see, it was not a fight to defend an economic indicator. It was a fight to defend the stability of the pockets of millions of Panamanians.

The good news I bring you today is that that stage is beginning to end. Because putting order was never the final destination. It was just the starting point.

Starting today you will see a President more focused on generating jobs, promoting economic growth, and ensuring that the order we build translates into well-being for Panamanian families.

I am a man who for decades walked the world promoting our advantages from then, when the canal was not yet Panamanian, but that many of us saw as the stellar moment to start the future and begin to see Panama as a strategic geographical position that serves the world for the benefit of the Panamanian people. That vision of yesterday will be the reality that we begin to build today.

I want to announce the beginning of a great national program that we have called Panama Pa' Ti, a comprehensive strategy that will concentrate the main efforts of the Government during this new stage, based on four major priorities: employment, health, basic basket and water.

The concern I hear most frequently in my travels around the country is the lack of job opportunities, especially among our young people.

Therefore, the first axis of Panama Pa' Tier will be employment. Our goal is to promote the generation of 80,000 new private jobs, the product of a close alliance with the productive sector. They will not be state jobs, but sustainable opportunities that arise from investment, production and the development of new projects.

One of the engines to achieve this goal will be construction. We will present a program for housing affordable to Panamanian families, with special emphasis on the interior of the country, because each home that is built generates employment and moves the local economy. Construction will, once again, be the driving force of a period of greater prosperity.

On the other hand, in the first quarter of this year, tourist activity grew by 17% and it is beginning to be noticed. He was talking with the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, about the enormous tourist potential of the Costa Arriba de Colón. I shared with him the progress of the Caribbean Corridor and the Cuango-Santa Isabel highway, and he expressed the interest of Dominican businessmen, who join the interest of European investors, in developing hotel infrastructure.

With the Tourism Incentives Law that we will present for consideration in this chamber, the State will send a clear signal of confidence to those who want to invest and generate employment in Panama.

So that these opportunities can be taken advantage of, we will launch, together with MITRADEL, INADEH and ATP, a national training program with paid internships in the tourism sector, designed according to the specific needs of each region of the country.

We know that the jobs of the future require new skills. That is why, in alliance with Google, today we are launching Talent Up Panama, an initiative that will allow 10,000 Panamanians to access free training in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analysis and other highly in-demand digital skills.

Our objective is simple: prepare more Panamanians for the jobs of the future and consolidate Panama as the main technological, logistics and services center in the region.

Starting today, all interested parties will be able to register through the Panama Conecta platform. I especially want to invite our young people to take advantage of this opportunity.

The road works tendered are now beginning to generate economic movement, as is the Tapahuecos program. Like the start of works on the Loma Campana - Santiago highway, the advancement of the Beach Corridor, the Caribbean Corridor and many other works, will demand local labor, boosting the economy of the entire country.

Another good news is a historic alliance with the IDB Invest—of the Inter-American Development Bank—to invest one billion dollars directly in Panama. This alliance was born from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with a clear objective: to create jobs.

The resources do not go through the government, they go directly to the private sector, especially to small and medium-sized businesses, which are the largest driver of employment in our country.

In November, expansion works begin in the Free Zone, for 250 million dollars, which will generate hundreds of jobs for the province.

Additionally, this month of July hundreds of new buyers will arrive with the implementation of the new visa system, generating greater business and job opportunities.

I want to announce here the First Agro Employment program, which will benefit 2,000 young people in the provinces of Los Santos, Herrera, Veraguas and Darién. They will have training, paid work experience and the possibility of joining a sector that is essential for the country's growth.

For the month of September we will begin CEAGRO activities, with the first 100 young scholarship recipients, to prepare technicians in the strategic sectors of our agriculture.

Together with the Technological University, where we will begin the construction of dormitories for students in Panama and will put out to tender those in the interior, we will promote training in areas where new talents are in demand.

Panama will be the bridge to take our products to the world and, at the same time, the logistics hub from where large producers, such as those in MERCOSUR, export theirs. It's not about competing, but about complementing each other. And that means more investment, more economic movement and more jobs.

I warn that we will continue with inspections to detect and sanction companies that illegally employ foreigners, that takes away opportunities for Panamanians and is a crime.

Good times are coming. What should have started two years ago is coming if we had received a well-managed country. I must admit that you have waited too long and I thank you for your patience.

Now, I want to briefly refer to a topic of national interest, related to employment and the environment: the Mine.

In that sense, I must inform you that an in-depth objective study was carried out with highly prestigious international professionals and it is available to everyone on the MiAmbiente website.

The report is being analyzed and studied by a government team headed by Minister Moltó, accompanied by Ministers Navarro and Chapman, who will give the conclusions from each of their areas.

I truly believe that everything done must be based on verifiable and valid information. The positions of yes because yes, and no because no, try to evade logical argumentation and reasons for making decisions, which must be in the direction of the best interests of the country when it is appropriate to do so. And I will be the first to announce it to the country when a decision is made.

Now I move on to the second axis: health. We are advancing in the digitalization of the system to improve patient care. Online appointments will avoid lines from the early morning; The digital prescription will make the delivery of medications faster, and telemedicine will bring health services closer to more Panamanians, with emphasis on prevention and timely care.

I also announced that the 140 medicines, of the highest quality at low prices, that are currently sold in MINSA Pharmacies, will be marketed starting this year in more than 500 pharmacies throughout the country. This is direct help to the pockets of the Panamanian family.

In the remainder of the year, we will finish the Anita Moreno hospital and the Pediatric Emergency building in the City of Health. The Social Security Fund will put the 5 state-of-the-art robots into operation at full capacity to increase its capacity to perform surgeries and, through a modern digital system, will improve the delivery of medicines.

Now I will refer to another central issue: the Basic Basket, which is very important for the pockets of thousands and thousands of Panamanians.

The IMA will open its People's Stores in more provinces, bringing quality products at very convenient prices not only in rice, but in a variety of foods produced in our country.

I have also given instructions to reach an agreement between national producers, supermarkets and the Government, which will allow offering a basket of basic products at a lower price than the current one. Be careful, it is not price regulation, but an agreement between the parties.

On the issue of water, I must admit that there were initial delays and management that was not in line with the needs. We recognized errors and relaunched management to provide more speed and deliveries.

This year we will add new drinking water systems in Colón, Bocas del Toro and Herrera; also completing the East Hydraulic Ring, which will reinforce the supply for nearly half a million Panamanians

We are building new water treatment plants in Barú and Panama Este, expanding and rehabilitating plants in eight provinces.

We are advancing with the Arraiján and Sabanitas plants, we are developing new desalination plants, and executing the Panama Without Leaks program, to modernize distribution networks and reduce water losses, which will improve pressure in neighborhoods located in the highest sectors.

To these axes I want to add a very important topic, which is public transportation.

The San Miguelito Cable Car will be a reality. We are advancing in the technical and financial structuring to be able to launch a work that will transform the mobility of thousands of Panamanians.

At the same time, I announced the purchase of new trains for Line 1, with the purpose of responding to the growth in demand and providing better service to users.

We continue planning Line 2A and the extension of Line 3 to Ciudad del Futuro, projects that will strengthen the integration of the transportation system and give a better quality of life to Panamanians.

I don't want to forget the biggest campaign promise: The Panama-David train. That project has evolved. We no longer conceive it only as a train, but as a work of national integration that will bring provinces together, boost production, attract investment and open new opportunities for the entire country.

During these two years we have rigorously studied its viability. I am not going to commit the country to the largest investment in its history, and probably in Central America, without the certainty that it will bring growth and progress.

The study carried out by a top-level international firm concludes that the project is viable. However, due to liability, it will be subject to validation by an international, independent and objective third party.

This will not be a project that concludes my administration. We will start it with the vision of turning it into a true work of State, that transcends governments, as happened with the Panama Metro. There must be a national agreement so that it is not a work that is abandoned or left halfway.

If viable, in the coming years this train will become a reality and will forever change the way in which Panamanians connect, produce and grow.

To give you an idea: 150 people participated in the preparation of the studies alone. Imagine the thousands of jobs that the construction and implementation of this work will create.

On the other hand, yesterday we received good news, with effort, in compliance with the regulations and thanks to the constant work of the Maritime Authority, we managed to return to the white list of the Paris MOU, that is, our flag meets the highest international standards. This is a very important advance for the national maritime strategy.

There is also progress in quality of service and competitiveness. From now on, the AMP will offer 24/7 services to provide quick responses regardless of the time zone of clients who demand more and better services.

Personally, I want to express my gratitude for the work of the First Lady's Office, headed by Maricel, a great team and hundreds of volunteers.

This semester they have had a great participation in charitable works, in social aid in the most vulnerable sectors: in the Patitas Mission for pets, in Espacios que Abrazan, and so many other works and actions. I wish to highlight the immense work carried out in Parque Omar receiving donations for Venezuela and the work of containment and help to the families affected by the fire at the San Felipe house.

As the last management issue and no less important, is the issue of security, which I know is one of the biggest problems for Panamanians today.

Drug trafficking continues to be the main factor that fuels insecurity in our country. When I was Minister of Security, we focused our greatest efforts on hitting criminal organizations and managed to significantly reduce drug trafficking and its impact on our streets.

Over the years I saw, with concern, how that pressure eased and how the drug traffickers returned to our neighborhoods, using our territory to move drugs and gaining space again. I warned about it on several occasions with great concern, knowing what was coming. Today, we have many more seizures, that is, trafficking has increased.

What we are experiencing today did not appear overnight. It is the consequence of a problem that was allowed to grow for years, with necessary complicity.

But I also tell you something: just as once we managed to face it, we will do it again. We are already strengthening our security forces, working hand in hand with neighboring countries and, in addition, the decision of the new Colombian government to resume fumigations will help hit cocaine production at its source, which is where this problem really begins.

We know that this fight cannot take place alone, that is why we are going to take an important step and bring together all the countries of the region in Panama to begin a comprehensive plan for frontal combat.

We will impose a force majeure plan, isolating gang leaders completely, we are going to build a maximum security prison and tighten prison rules for those who commit crimes from within prisons.

The Penitentiary System showed a weakness that is unacceptable, and must have a better filter to prioritize resocialization in those individuals of good behavior, with a clear demonstration that they want to leave crime behind.

The rest must have discipline, order and contribute to society because they are there because of damages they did to it. I reiterate that I am pro-Human Rights, but that of the victims will always come first.

We are going to increase the number of troops on the streets, incorporate body cameras, drones and larger units in the neighborhoods.

I'm going to be clear: I prefer to be accused of overcrowding prisons, than for gang members to continue extorting, killing and robbing and moving drugs around the country. It has been proven that gang members do not understand it simply, so they will understand it with more weight from the public force.

We will continue adding scanners and intensifying controls with the National Customs Authority, which already has 100% control of movements in the country's main ports and has been very efficient in detecting illicit merchandise that fuels crime.

Ladies and gentlemen, the announcements I have made today are not only commitments to the Panamanian people. They are a clear instruction for my entire government team: There is no room for excuses, delays or bureaucracy. This is an order to proceed.

My commitments to the country are, from this moment, the mandate of each of my ministers, directors and officials.

We begin a new stage, and the National Assembly a new period. I want to thank the work of former president Jorge Herrera, a man from the opposition who has known how to maintain a democratic and proactive relationship, demonstrating that new leaders continue to emerge from the traditional parties. Today, I wish the President, Shirley Castañeda, a great administration, taking care of the Independence of the Powers and working in unity for the good of Panama.

A country that has shown time and time again that it knows how to get back up after difficulties. Who resisted the blows of bad decisions in the past, but never gives up on opportunities. Panamanians always find a way to get ahead.

I am proud to be at the service of tenacious men and women who, in silence, work, undertake and sacrifice every day to build a better future for their families.

We are not the rulers. It is you who make Panama great. And it is you who deserve a government that is close, that listens to you, that respects you and that works with the same dedication with which you fight every day.

That has been my mission from day one. And it will continue to be the reason that gets me up every morning to serve Panama, together with my family, with the same conviction, until the last day of my mandate.