For a week, Panama has been partially blocked by roadblocks which prevent or disrupt traffic in the capital and in the provinces. The demonstrators are mobilized to denounce a mining contract signed by the government with a Canadian company, which they consider dangerous for the environment and violating national integrity. Sunday evening, the Panamanian president announced the holding of a referendum to end the crisis.
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A referendum for Panamanians to decide whether or not to repeal the law authorizing the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) to exploit the largest mine in Central America? The response to the Panamanian president’s Sunday announcement, in two stages, did not take long.
From Monday October 30 in the morning, opponents of 20 more years of mining were back on the streets, convinced that the presidential announcement was just a smokescreen. The protesters are worried about the potential impact on the environment and the contours of this contract. Elvis was one of those blocking one of Panama City’s main intersections. At 55, he claims to have never seen such popular mobilization. “ We have no confidence in the government. The people have already spoken, the majority is already in the streets, he says on the microphone of our correspondent in Panama, Grégoire Pourtier. There is nothing else to say, we want the law withdrawn. I don’t know how we’re going to get it, but we will. We will take turns to maintain the blockages, because this fight concerns us all. This is about the future of our country, its environmental future, which is most important. Forests are our wealth. The gold of Panama is green gold, and nothing more. »
Second stage: the Electoral Tribunal announced that it was unable to organize such a vote. “ For the moment, the conditions are not met to organize the planned referendum », indicated the President of the Court, Alfredo Junca, during a press conference, estimating that the tensions in the country do not make it possible to respond to the request of the Head of State. Moreover, “ the Court of Justice is currently seized of an appeal for unconstitutionality against law 406 (on the mining contract) which, if resolved before the date of the referendum, would render it useless », added the magistrate.
The president persists and signs
Despite these blockages, on Monday, President Laurentino Cortizo transmitted to the Panamanian Congress a bill paving the way for a referendum on December 17. “ Thanks to this bill, we have the opportunity to implement actions that will allow [parvenir à] social peace », Declared Panamanian Minister of the Interior Roger Tejada before Congress. The President of the National Assembly, Jaime Vargas, a member of the presidential party, for his part declared that he would propose amending the bill in order to suspend the contract pending the referendum.
The crisis could therefore last. Due to lack of supplies, the central fruit and vegetable market is already almost at a standstill. The Supreme Court of Justice should therefore take up the matter very quickly. In 2017, 20 years after the complaint, it had already ruled unconstitutional the contract ceding part of the national territory to a foreign company. But lawyers are worried: if the country finally withdrew from the agreement, it would be exposed to billions of dollars in compensation. The gigantic open-air copper mine, located 240 km from Panama City, generates 4% of GDP and 75% of the country’s export revenues.
(And with AFP)