The seven indigenous ethnic groups of Panama have asked Pope Leo XIV to intercede to stop violence against them in the national protests and to urge the government of Jose Mulino to establish a genuine dialogue to resolve the current crisis.

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In the letter, addressed to “His Holiness Leo XIV,” indigenous peoples request “that a call be made to the Panamanian government to urgently build that ‘bridge of dialogue’ that you have wisely proposed to find solutions to the problems that affect us.”

“Today, more than ever, the Panamanian indigenous people cry out to be heard. Their struggle is for respect for their lands, their autonomy, and their dignified life, principles that the Church has always defended. Therefore, we ask you, Holy Father, to intercede with those responsible for this crisis, the Government of Panama, urging an end to the repression, the restitution of their rights, and the opening of a true dialogue, free from violence,” the letter reads.

The document was delivered to the Archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa, after being signed by the president of the indigenous coordinating body, Leonides Cunampia, and the chieftain Elena Cruz, and endorsed by the country’s seven original peoples.

The letter to the Pope explains that “as a result of peaceful protests, the government of President José Raúl Mulino has taken on the task of using all security agencies to brutally attack protesters, and has initiated a systematic and violent persecution against native peoples, especially from the Ngobe Buglé region and also the collective Emberá – Wounaan territory.”

The indigenous people point out that “not even in the darkest times of the military dictatorship” have they been “so persecuted, besieged in our own territories, run over and vilely attacked by the government’s security forces.” And they explain that these demonstrations have left “a sad toll of wounded, people who have lost their sight, a woman about to lose an arm, a young man on the verge of death, and hundreds detained.”

Some teachers’ unions in the public sector began an indefinite strike on April 23 to ask the Government to repeal a law reforming social security, which they consider harmful to their pensions and “neoliberal” in nature.

The construction union, Suntracs – considered the most powerful in the country – and also the banana industry union, as well as indigenous groups, gradually joined it. In recent weeks, there have been strong clashes between protesters and the police.

Justly, the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous authorities denounced on May 16 that their region, the largest in Panama and located in the northwest of the country, is “militarily besieged” by the security forces, who “persecute” and “remove from their homes” “leaders” and “entire families.” They also denounced an alleged “fumigation with pepper spray” via helicopters.

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