In the Colón Free Trade Zone, near the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal, the dated Perspex and glass buildings are emblazoned with brand names for electronics, perfumes and textiles. Behind loom vast warehouses and dozens of port cranes, while on the street, shop owners unload merchandise from shipping containers.
Established in 1948, the world’s second largest free-trade zone was envisioned as a wholesale redistribution centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, but