The ruling coalition comprising the Partido Cambio Democrático(CD) and The Partido Panameista(PP)collapsed in 2011. With the PP now in opposition, the CD lost the congressional majority, which imposed a sharply negative impact on President Martinelli's approval rate. The GDP growth rate of 10.5% in 2011 and of 6.5% in 2012 make Panama one of the strongest performers in Latin America. In addition, the increase of private consumption and investment fueled the economic growth. Panama's FTA with the US was ratified by the US Congress. <<