PANAMA, minus the presence of its previous authoritarian ruler  is gaining ground as a democracy according to the latest index of democratic development (IDD), developed by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany and the Argentine consulting firm Polilat.

According to the latest report, the country in 2015 obtained 7.1 points out of a maximum of 10, which represents an increase of 2.4 points from 2014.

The study ranked Panama fourth in Latin America behind Uruguay, Costa Rica and Chile.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guatemala were the worst democracies in the region.

The study is divided into four parts: respect for political rights and civil liberties; institutional quality and political efficiency; ability to generate policies that ensure the well-being of citizens and economic democracy.

One issue that continues to be a problem in Panama is the lack of women in office reports La Prensa