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Panama: Consensus Reached on Issues To Discuss With Government

  • The United People for Life Alliance, the Native Peoples' Alliance, and the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People (ANADEPO)  agreed on the key issues to be discussed with the government. Jul. 20, 2022.

    The United People for Life Alliance, the Native Peoples' Alliance, and the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People (ANADEPO) agreed on the key issues to be discussed with the government. Jul. 20, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@cuadernosaguila

Published 20 July 2022
Opinion

Fuel, food, medicines, electricity and the fight against corruption are among the main issues to be discussed.  
 

From the Coclé province, it was announced early Wednesday morning by social organizations that a consensus was reached on the issues to be discussed with the government at the single dialogue table.   

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The United People for Life Alliance, the Native Peoples' Alliance, and the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People (ANADEPO) identified fuel, food, medicines, electricity, the proposal to dedicate 6 percent of the GDP to education and the fight against corruption as crucial issues.

The country is amidst protests over the high cost of living, unemployment, lack of attention to indigenous communities' issues, and other concerns. The Avenida de Los Mártires in Panama City is blocked by a protest in which teachers participate, as shown in videos and images on social networks. 

In this scenario, a humanitarian corridor was opened in the Chiriquí province for trucks transporting food, fuel, medical supplies and other products bound for the capital. Members of the Single Union of Construction and Similar Workers (Suntracs) escort the vehicles.

In a meeting in Coclé, the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People (Anadepo), the United People for Life Alliance and Ngäbe Buglé leaders, agreed on the first 8 issues to negotiate with the Executive Branch at the single dialogue table.

According to Jaime Caballero, a United People for Life leader, it was decided to guarantee the shipment of such products by the workers because the struggle is against the neoliberal model and not against the people.

Saúl Méndez, Suntracs secretary and United People for Life spokesman, said that the extension of the protests meant to pressure the government to listen to the popular sectors, that for the sake of dialogue, police repression must cease. 

Clashes between protesters and police have occurred in the province of Veraguas, with an undetermined number of people injured and arrested. There have also been incidents in the country's capital where riot police have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

The mobilizations began on July 6 and continued despite the government's attempts to quell them. Laurentino Cortizo's administration adopted measures to ease the protests, but the popular organizations deemed the steps insufficient.

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