Demonstrators continued their protests yesterday in Panama, which has been rocked for two weeks by a wave of dissent and protests against the cost of living despite calls for dialogue from the government of center-left President Laurentino Cortisso.
Traffic on the Pan-American Expressway, the highway that runs through the country and connects it to the rest of Central America, is sporadically interrupted in various locations by roadblocks, Agence France-Presse found.
“The prices of food, fuel and medicine must go down, we can’t take it anymore in this country,” said Arnulfo Sarmiento, a professional driver, 53, at a roadblock in Aguadulce (central), 200 kilometers from the capital.
The wave of mass mobilizations in the state of 4.5 million people is unprecedented since 1989 and the fall of the military dictatorship of Manuel Antonio Noriega.
Inflation hit 4.2% in the twelve months to May, unemployment is hitting 10% of the active workforce, fuel prices have risen 47% since the start of the year.
Despite the $2 billion annually brought in by the Panama Canal and GDP growth reaching 17.8% in 2021 and 13.6% in the first quarter of 2022, the country has one of the highest inequality rates in the world.
“In Panama, with the Canal bringing in billions every year, we cannot understand or accept that the poverty level is still at 20%,” said Yadira Pino, a professor, at a barricade organized by Nuove-Bule natives in Santiago de Veraguas, 250 kilometers from the capital.
Due to the road blockades, which have been multiplying for a week, the supply of Panama City and several provinces has become difficult.
Trying to calm the anger of the protesting world, President Cortisso announced on Tuesday a reduction or freeze in the prices of fuel and a dozen other basic products.
But unions describe the measures as insufficient and refused to sit down the day before Thursday at the negotiation table that the government seeks to conduct with the mediation of the Roman Catholic Church.
“I have no doubt that with honest dialogue, without duplicity, we will be able to move forward,” said the head of state.
Protesters also denounce corruption and mismanagement in the demonstrations.
“Politicians are the biggest thieves,” declared Mitsila Canis, a 41-year-old housewife. “They eat meat, we have nothing.”
In the capital there are sporadic traffic interruptions on some road arteries, however the Canal is operating smoothly.
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Capital
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