As nationwide protests in Panama continued for a third week, President Laurentino Cortizo on Thursday called on demonstrators to unblock highways, saying the road blockades are causing severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicines. He asserted that any further reduction in fuel costs is not feasible, stating that in case of a failure to pay for imports, that “resource goes to another country.”
Demonstrators have caused road and highway blockades with trucks carrying food and other essential items stranded near Santiago, the capital city of the province of Veraguas, since Wednesday night. Likewise, a 100-truck caravan carrying nearly 50,000 tonnes of supplies of humanitarian aid and essential commodities was stuck near Chiriqui as indigenous protesters continued to block the Inter-American highway through Wednesday.
The blockade of the Pan American highway, which accounts for 80% of all fruits and vegetables transported in the country, has resulted in over $500 million in losses to the agriculture sector. Oxygen supply has also become scarce in Chiriqui’s hospitals and closures have forced the national electricity grid to ration electricity in the Darien province.
In this respect, President Cortizo said he “firmly believes” in dialogue and stressed that “protests are part of democracy, but we cannot harm ourselves,” while calling for an end to road blockades. Further, he vowed to defend the “interests of the country and its people,” asserting that no personal or group aspirations can ever be above the Panamanians.
Hago un llamado a la tolerancia y al respeto del derecho ajeno, a que cesen los actos de violencia y vandalismo en algunos puntos del país; a que se abran las calles para no perjudicar el abastecimiento de alimentos, combustible, gas e insumos médicos para la población. 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/2HzYFBz9EQ
— Nito Cortizo (@NitoCortizo) July 21, 2022
The anti-government protests first erupted on July 1 after teachers from the Ngäbe-Buglé region demanded salary hikes, but later spiralled into a nationwide strike joined by students and construction workers—represented by the United People for Life Alliance and the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People—as well as indigenous groups.
As the demonstrations morphed into a larger movement, citizens began demanding measures to address the rising cost of living in the country by freezing food, medicinal, and fuel prices and increasing public expenditure on health, education, and social security. The marchers have also expressed dissatisfaction with the rampant corruption in the government and called for better management of public funds.
The National Front for the Defense of Economic and Social Rights (FRENADESO), another group that has joined the march, has called for a “fight for a better quality of life, for a better salary, down with the high fuel costs!” It demands “effective solutions for the collective good,” and has claimed that the Cortizo government’s policies have turned Panama into “one of the most indebted (countries) of the continent.”
La economista Maribel Gordón explica la propuesta de la canasta básica presentada en la mesa única de diálogo. "Estamos planteando una disminución del costo de la canasta básica ampliada del 30%, que permita a la población tener una vida digna", señaló.
— La Estrella | Panamá (@EstrellaOnline) July 22, 2022
📹: Ismael Gordón pic.twitter.com/lz8WCM2Hy5
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama (COONAPIP) is demanding land titling, chanting slogans like “Our land is not for sale, our land is defended.”
The three-week-long protests are the lengthiest the country has seen in decades and coincides with right-wing President Cortizo’s completion of three years in office. The country is currently battling an inflation rate of 5.2% and an unemployment rate of 10%; fuel prices have also surged by more than 50% since January. Cortizo has attributed this to supply chain disruptions caused by the Ukraine war as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, critics have said income inequality and the redistribution of wealth are bigger factors and predate the pandemic and the Ukraine war. Political analyst Guillermo Ruiz told Al Jazeera: “Working-class Panamanians are wondering why, if the country is growing by 6.5%, they are unable to pay for medicine or gasoline.”
In response, Cortizo has reduced fuel prices to $3.25 per gallon and imposed ceilings on prices of 10 basic food items but demonstrators have deemed these measures insufficient, who have vowed to continue protesting.
In fact, on Sunday, the two sides signed a deal to end the road blockades but this was later rejected by citizen groups, who vowed to continue pressing for their initial 32 demands.
Protesters in Panama take control of the Pan-American highway at Santiago de Veraguas, expressing rejection of the government's repression against the people, two weeks into mobilizations over the economic crisis. pic.twitter.com/Rr7RiZrX98
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) July 20, 2022
Protests also took a turn for the worse after violent clashes between the police and protesters on Tuesday, wherein security forces fired tear gas to clear road blockades in the country’s west.
Humberto Montero, a member of the Veraguenses Educators Association, has described the situation as “critical,” stressing that “if the police continue with repression, the dialogue will be affected.”
Against this backdrop, a fresh round of negotiations between the government and protesters will now be mediated by the Catholic Church after repeated rounds of dialogue have thus far failed to achieve consensus.
As grocery stores empty out, and inflation becomes unbearable, the people of Panama are taking to the streets to protest the socialist DRP government. pic.twitter.com/PXI95gGH78
— Keean Bexte 🇳🇱 (@TheRealKeean) July 19, 2022
Keeping in mind the delicate situation, the United Nations has urged demonstrators and the government to “find consensus” and restore “calm in the face of protests, strikes, and closures occurring throughout the country.” The UN also simultaneously called on the Cortizo government to ensure the safety and security of protesters, and to protect human rights, in recognition of citizens’ “right to demonstrate peacefully, express their opinion, and participate in public affairs that concern them.”
Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the escalating situation, the United States Embassy in Panama has advised US citizens in the country to “exercise caution” and “maintain situational awareness” during the mostly non-violent protests that have at times witnessed tensions and police repression.
The protests in Panama mirror similar social unrest across the region, with citizens demanding transformative government measures to address rising inflation and living costs in Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru.