What sparked the biggest protests in decades in Panama?

by time news

For three weeks, Panama has been facing the biggest social protests in decades, whose catalyst was the increasing increase in fuel and food prices. As the discontent in the streets continues, other claims are added, such as the high costs of medicines and low wages in a country with high inequality, according to statistics.

teachers unions they lit the fuse of the protests by declaring themselves on indefinite strike and they were joined by other organizations and unions -such as that of the construction industry-, indigenous groups and the general public.

The closures, including the international Pan-American highway, are causing shortages of food, fuel and oxygen in hospitals, according to authorities.

Dozens of people walk across a road that remains closed by protesters in Panama City. Photo EFE

What are the requirements?

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the unstoppable rise in fuel since late February, which according to experts impacted the already rising cost of food. The price of a gallon of gasoline skyrocketed around 40%, according to official and market estimates. A gallon of gasoline was paid for almost six dollars at the beginning of the month (just over a dollar and a half per liter).

Economists estimate that inflation, which according to official figures reached 4.2% in May, would reach 6.0% in June due to the increase in gasoline.

A route that remains closed by protesters to the east of the Panama City metropolitan area.  Photo EFE

A route that remains closed by protesters to the east of the Panama City metropolitan area. Photo EFE

“That is alarming for Panama, which is not used to that,” Rolando Gordón, professor of economics at the University of Panama, told The Associated Press. He alluded to the fact that historically this country of more than four million inhabitants and with the dollar US as legal currency was always safe inflationary phenomena in other countries of the region.

The teachers’ and professors’ unions demanded the freezing and/or reduction of fuels, a food price cap and an increase in the budget for education. Now there are also claims to lower drug prices, put a stop to shortages in the pharmacies of the Social Security entity and improve wages.

Deep down, political analyst Miguel Antonio Bernal tells the AP, the protests also have to do with a social “fatigue” towards what he considers wastage in the administration of public money and the recurring corruption scandals in recent decades.

He also mentions the “historic” inequality, despite a country of services that operates the interoceanic canal and with a capital full of skyscrapers. An official report on the distribution of household income in 2015 indicated that the 10% of the richest families in Panama had 37.3 times more income than the 10% of the poorest families in the country.

How did the government respond?

President Laurentino Cortizo, who entered his third year of five in government on July 1, initially announced the freezing of gasoline at $3.95 for all citizens, which later dropped to 3.25 as part of an agreement with leaders of the teachers’ strike, who hours later broke the consensus.

The neighborhood of Boca La Caja and the buildings of Punta Pacifica, in Panama City.  Photo EFE

The neighborhood of Boca La Caja and the buildings of Punta Pacifica, in Panama City. Photo EFE

The government also announced austerity measures in spending and on Tuesday he reported on his efforts to make a number of drugs more accessible.

The measures, however, have not quelled the protests. Street closures continue in the capital and in the other provinces of the country. The day before, a video of passengers walking with their suitcases on a highway to the international airport due to cuts went viral.

This Tuesday an attempt is being made to launch another dialogue in a town in the center of the country, but the government has had problems bringing together all the dissatisfied groups at a single table.

How is the economy of the country?

After appearing as the fastest growing economy in Latin America at the beginning of the last decade -with double-digit growth- a period of contraction began that was aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a GDP drop of 20% in 2020, although it recovered the following year, registering a growth of 15.3% as the restrictions due to the pandemic were lifted.

During the first quarter of 2022 it also grew with double digits -13.6%- and unemployment fell to almost 10%, although it is almost double that registered in 2010, according to official figures. In times of pandemic, informal activity also skyrocketed in almost 50%, indicate the statistics.

The government particularly attributes the historic rise in fuel prices to the war in Russia and Ukraine, although analysts maintain that the economy in general had been in trouble for a long time.

“All of this is happening after a not very good economic story before the 2020s,” analyst and sociologist Danilo Toro told the AP. “Putting everything together with political mismanagement leads to an enormous increase in unsatisfied social needs”.

AP Agency

PB

You may also like

Leave a Comment