Download Country of the Week: Panama

Country of the Week: Panama
Panama lies on the isthmus that connects North and South America.
Panama is part of Central
America. This is an area that lies
between North America and South America.
What other countries are part of Central
America? (Several, including Guatemala,
Honduras, and El Salvador.) Panama is a long,
narrow country. Since it is surrounded by
water on both sides, and connects two larger
pieces of land, Panama is called an isthmus.
What bodies of water surround Panama?
(The Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean
Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.)
Panama’s weather is tropical, or very warm
and rainy. This makes it great for farming
BASIC
crops such as
bananas, coffee,
and sugarcane.
About one-third
of Panama is
made up of a
large rainforest. Monkeys, jaguars, deer,
and parrots live in this rainforest. Would
you like to visit a rainforest? But most
of the business in the country is done in
Panama City, the capital and largest city.
It is shown in the picture at the top. In
July, Juan Carlos Varela — vah-RAY-lah
— became the president of Panama. NEXT
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GENERAL
900,000 people. Earlier this year, Juan
Carlos Varela — vah-RAY-lah — was elected
to a five-year term as Panama’s president.
Like all Central American countries,
Panama has a tropical climate. What kind
of climate is this? (Warm and rainy.)
About one-third of the country is tropical
rainforest. What is a rainforest? (A dense
forest with plants that require a lot of water.)
Much of the rainforest is in protected
parkland. This helps Panama’s many native
plants and animals — including anteaters,
jaguars, monkeys, and many colorful birds
— grow and flourish. Panama’s climate
also helps farmers grow crops such as
bananas, sugarcane, coffee, and rice.
Panama’s economy, one of the strongest in
the Americas, is also helped by tourism —
and by the Panama Canal. NEXT
ADVANCED
earlier this year. Varela, a pro-business
conservative, is based in Panama City,
the country’s capital and largest city.
From there, he oversees a nation with
a thriving tourism industry due to its
tropical climate and natural beauty. About
one-third of the country is tropical rain
forest, and much of that land is protected
national parkland. The lush forests and
savannahs are home to a great variety of
flora and fauna. Panama’s native wildlife
includes sloths, anteaters, jaguars, and
deer, as well as many bird species. Why
do you think Panama would have such
a great diversity of wildlife? (Because
it is a land bridge between North and
South America, species from both continents
have migrated to Panama and found homes
there.) Panama’s climate is also ideal for
crops such as bananas, coffee, sugarcane,
and rice. NEXT
The central American nation
of Panama is about the
size of the state of Maine, but it has an
important place in world trade. Panama lies
on an isthmus between the Caribbean Sea
— which is part of the Atlantic Ocean — and
the Pacific Ocean. What is an isthmus?
(A narrow piece of land that connects larger
pieces of land.) Panama forms the only land
route between North and South America.
Why is this important? (For trade, travel,
and so on.) It is also the location of a famous
human-made waterway. What is this? (The
Panama Canal helps ships pass from the
Atlantic Ocean directly to the Pacific Ocean.)
About 3.3 million people live in Panama,
and its official language is Spanish. The
city shown here is Panama’s capital and
largest city, Panama City, home to about
Panama
is
the
southernmost country in
Central America. Although it is only about
the size of the state of Maine, Panama
occupies a big place in international trade.
It’s sometimes called the “Crossroads of
the World.” That’s because one of the
most important manmade waterways in
the world runs through Panama. What
is this? (The Panama Canal.) Why do
you think it is so important? (Ships
can travel directly between the Caribbean
Sea — part of the Atlantic ocean — and
the Pacific Ocean instead of going all the
way around South America.) The Panama
Canal accounts for a good part of Panama’s
economy. It employs thousands of people,
and also brings in about 2 billion dollars
in revenue paid directly to the government.
Panama’s president, Juan Carlos
Varela — vah-RAY-lah — won election
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NewsCurrents Week of September 8, 2014
Country of the Week: Panama (cont'd)
Panamanian culture is shaped by its history and geography.
Native Americans lived in
Panama for thousands of
years. In the 1500s, a Spanish explorer
claimed the area for Spain. From his
image here, what was his name? (Vasco
Nuñez de Balboa — VAHS-koh NOONyez day bahl-BOH-ah.) Panama was a
Spanish colony until 1821. During this
time, Panamanian women started wearing
the traditional dresses shown here. They
are called polleras — poh-YEHR-ahz. They
are still sometimes worn during parades
and festivals. What do you think of their
outfits? Panama was part of Colombia for
80 years. The U.S. helped Panama become
independent from Colombia before the
U.S. started to build the Panama Canal
BASIC
in
1904.
The Panama
C a n a l
connects
the Atlantic
and
Pacific
Oceans and
it helped U.S. businesses to ship goods
between the East and West Coasts without
having to go all around South America.
The man shown in the bottom photo
is Mañuel Noriega. He was the leader of
Panama in the 1980s. He was cruel leader
and also sold illegal drugs around the
world. The U.S. sent in troops to capture
him in 1989. Why do you think the U.S.
wanted to capture him? END
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GENERAL
by the United States, Panama declared its
independence. A year later, the U.S. began
work on the Panama Canal. Why did the
U.S. want to build the canal? (Because
it allowed U.S. businesses to ship goods
between the East and West coasts without
having to go all around South America.)
Panama has a stable government now,
but this was not always the case. In the
1980s, a military leader named Mañuel
Noriega gained power in the country. At
first, the U.S. backed him. As time went
on, it became clear that Noriega was
a brutal ruler. He was also involved in
the international sale of illegal drugs. So
President George H.W. Bush ordered the
U.S. military to invade Panama and capture
Noriega. He is shown here in custody. Do
you think this was a good use of the
U.S. military? Why or why not? END
ADVANCED
Spain, Panama was part of the nation of
Colombia for 80 years. In 1903, it declared
its independence, backed by the U.S. The
U.S. began building the Panama Canal the
following year, and continued to be very
involved in Panama. In the 1980s, a military
strongman named Mañuel Noriega gained
control in Panama. At first, the U.S. backed
his government. But when it became clear
that Noriega was ordering the execution of
his critics, and selling illegal drugs all around
the world, the U.S. decided to remove him by
invading Panama. The picture here from
1989 shows Noriega in the custody of Drug
Enforcement Agency soldiers. Who was the
U.S. president at the time?(George H.W.
Bush.) Was U.S. intervention justified
in this case? Why or why not? END
For centuries, various
Native American groups
lived in this area of the world. In 1513, the
Spanish explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
— VAHS-koh NOON-yez day bahl-BOHah — visited the land we now know as
Panama. Balboa claimed this area as a
Spanish colony. Soon, it was a hub for
trade in the region. Can you guess why?
(Spain realized that it was the shortest route
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.)
Balboa was so important to Panama that
the country’s money is named for him.
Panama was a Spanish colony for almost
three centuries. The women shown here
are wearing polleras — poh-YEHR-ahz.
This traditional dress began during the
colonial period. In 1821, Panama became
independent from Spain, but was still part
of the nation of Colombia. In 1903, backed
No one is quite sure how
many Native Americans
were living in Panama in 1513; estimates
range from 200,000 to 2 million. What
we do know is that that was the year that
Spanish explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
— VAHS-koh NOON-yez day bahl-BOH-ah
— claimed the area for Spain. His influence
is still felt in Panama — the country’s
currency is called the balboa. Why do you
think Panama thinks so highly of this
explorer? Panama was a Spanish colony
for almost three centuries. The country’s
traditional dress, the pollera — poh-YEHRah — was once only worn by domestic
servants. Eventually, the upper and
middle classes adopted the pollera as well.
After becoming independent from
NewsCurrents Week of September 8, 2014
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