One year into President José Raúl Mulino’s administration, corruption appears to be the country’s top problem for Panamanians. This is revealed by the results of the Vea Panamá survey conducted by La Estrella de Panamá , conducted by the polling firm Prodigious Consulting .

The survey was conducted between June 22 and 25, 2025, among 1,512 people in eight provinces of Panama, excluding Bocas del Toro and Darién. The margin of error is 2.5%.

For the Panamanians surveyed, the country’s main problems are corruption (33.9%), employment (18.5%) and the high cost of living (17.4%).

Despite nationwide protests and the suspension of classes in schools, the Social Security Fund (CSS) remains the fourth most pressing concern, with 6.5% of respondents, followed by education, with 6%, tied with wealth distribution.

Security and public services are among the issues of least concern to citizens. Insecurity is the main problem for 5.5% of respondents, followed by the public health system at 2.8%, the lack of water and electricity at 1.8%, and drug trafficking/gangs at 1.6%.

“Between July 2024 and June 2025, the fight against corruption went from being a secondary issue to becoming the main issue perceived by Panamanians, jumping from 19.3% to 33.9%. At the same time, concerns such as employment and the cost of living—although still relevant—lost ground in the public imagination. This reconfiguration of priorities reveals a growing institutional distrust, placing the transparency agenda as a critical axis in the evaluation of the government,” the pollster noted.