Mixed Signals

POPULISTS, LEFT AND RIGHT Now that Brazil's National Congress has tackled pension reform, the government ofjair Bolsonaro is turning its attention to tax cuts to stimulate the domestic market and attract more private investment. The Brazilian government's reform agenda and the EU-Mercosur agreement will "generate a change in expectations that will affect how economic agents see the future of Brazil," said Alejandro Werner, director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere department, at a July press conference. [...]they will lead to some kind of review in terms of future growth, equilibrium of the real exchange rate, etc." Panama, in particular, is projected to grow 6% this year and 5.5% in 2020. Since the 1980s, Panama has been implementing policies to improve the business environment, privatizing state-owned companies and opening its markets. Conservative President Nayib Bukele was elected thanks to a growth agenda that highlighted poverty reduction and fighting the criminal gangs, or maras, says José Eduardo Luna, executive director of Banco Cuscatlan.