(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



At least a few toes in that light at the end of the tunnel in Panama [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-12-03  

Every time I hear that phrase, “We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel” for what ever crisis it is at the time, my response is that we are still in the tunnel. That being said, the protests against the copper mine in Panama seem to be coming to an end. On Tuesday 28 November, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that law 406 was/is unconstitutional. Thus the mine contract was dead. Yet some of the protestors continued to keep many roads closed. Teachers were told to get back to class or their November pay would not be coming. They continued to strike/protest and then the Ministry of Education said they would get the November money. Schools appear to be ready to open again tomorrow, Monday 4 December. But there will be a somewhat heavy national police presence at schools throughout the country. I do wonder about the precedent set here but that may be another story. Other protestors said they would continue until the Supreme Court ruling was made public, more than via TV etc. Surprisingly, the ruling was published yesterday (Saturday) in the Official Gazette. And it seems that almost all of the protestors have gone home, or back to work. The actual mine workers, who have just lost their jobs, do seem to be waving some flags but only on the sides of roads.

It has been a wild six weeks here in Panama. Democracy in action for real? Maybe. But the Canadian company, First Quantum, is going to whatever international court to fight or complain about this. As it stands now, it seems the mine is closed, but someone needs to clean it up. And no one wants to pay for that of course. And other issues remain.There is some talk that some members of government at various levels were bribed to get the contract in place. The Minister of Commerce resigned on Thursday. And the results of this mess will take some time to recover from. The Canal is still running but at fewer number of ships. The mine money was a measurable percentage of the GDP (3-5%) And some businesses were damaged at times of “protests”. There was a bit of violence. Two teachers were shot dead. A couple of protestors were hit by vehicles trying to break through the blockade. And just down my road, the National Police were firing off some tear gas and one of them was hit in the head with a rock with enough force that his helmet flew off.

However, if you have plans for a vacation of no snow in the near future, I think all is well enough for that now here, even in Bocas Del Toro and Boquete. I would give it a couple of weeks for those two areas but they really could use the tourist dollars as they were completely closed off for about six weeks. That was no gas or fuel or food coming in. Local news often showed videos of trucks dumping massive amounts of carrots and the like due to not being able to transport goods. I have friends in Boquete who worried about dog food but all seems ok now.

So come on down, or over. Shoveling sunshine is much easier than shoveling snow.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/3/2209475/-At-least-a-few-toes-in-that-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-in-Panama?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/