Panama, being a Third World country, lacks the resource to take optimal care of most of its municipal parks. The nature of these parks and their needs range widely throughout the country.

Above in the little Atlantic side community of Nombre de Dios, all they have is a statue and plaque, a little patch of worn-out grass and a couple of benches.

Below is Panama City's Parque Legislativo Remón Cantera, adjacent to the Legislative Assembly's Palacio Justo Arosemena and around the corner from Plaza Cinco de Mayo. The fountains around the statue of the martyred President Remón stopped working properly long ago, a lot of the benches are broken and the trash tends to accumulate faster than the city sanitation workers can clean it up.

In both cases, however, these parks are among the few public spaces that people have, and they are used. Photos by Eric Jackson