AGI – American actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio has decided to support the fight of Panamanian citizens against the activities of a large copper mine, the epicenter of a national crisis that has left four people dead and is causing millions of dollars in losses in the country.
The Hollywood star published a post from theSubject: Wild Organizationin which a video entitled “Panama Te Quiero Verde, Shut down the mega-mine” by Duletvindigena and Waguafilms is shown.
“The people of Panama are uniting to defend nature and asking the country’s Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a controversial mining project in the Bosque Donoso protected forest,” say members of Duletvindigena, who describe themselves as “… ” designatedsocial network in which the experiences of indigenous peoples are shared” and Waguafilms, which creates “audiovisual productions in the indigenous areas of Panama.”
The property, the organizations continued, “lies in the heart of the largest natural corridor in Mesoamerica” and “mining activities would have destructive impacts on surrounding ecosystems, species and people.” “Global attention can help Panamanians win a decisive victory for biodiversity and pave the way for a more sustainable future,” it continues, inviting people to sign a petition on their behalf.
Panama’s Supreme Court announced that a panel of nine judges will hold a permanent session on November 24 to decide as quickly as possible on two constitutional complaints against the Contract Law, which on October 20 extended the concession to the company Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, for a renewable period of 20 years.
Minera Panama operates the Cobre Panama mine, which claims to be the largest open-pit mine in Central America with an investment of $10 billion, and has been exporting minerals since 2019, particularly to the Chinese market. The mining company denies that its activities harm the environmentwhile the government of President Laurentino Cortizo ensures that the new contract guarantees environmental monitoring and increases revenues for the state treasury tenfold with an annual payment of 375 million dollars, compared to the previous contract declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2017.
The explicit adoption of the treaty law by parliament and the executive branch sparked the largest public demonstrations in decades in Panama, punctuated by vandalism by people accused of being intruders, while police were accused of using excessive force against demonstrators.
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