EXPLAINER
As the country continues to grapple with ongoing protests and a financial crisis, we take a look at the protesters’ demands and the government’s response.
Thousands of Panamanian protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demand that the government halt rising inflation and corruption.
President Laurentino Cortizo recently announced measures to cut fuel costs and cap the price of basic necessities – but protesters said it wasn’t enough and vowed to keep demonstrating.
Here’s what you need to know about the protests, which are among the longest in Panama in decades.
Why is Panama protesting and what are the protesters’ demands?
- The latest protests come as Panama struggles with an inflation rate of 4.2 percent in May; unemployment figures of about 10 percent; and an almost 50 percent increase in fuel costs since January.
- Teachers were the first group to demonstrate in early July, but other groups have since joined, including construction workers, students and members of indigenous groups.
- Initially, protesters called for a freeze and reduction in fuel prices, a food price cap and an increase in the education budget, but demands have since expanded to include a national hearing to tackle political corruption and discuss major policy reforms.
- “The current situation in Panama is incredible,” Janireth Dominguez, who is studying medicine, told Al Jazeera.
- “There is no medical care, there are pay cuts and there is no work. There is no money to pay the doctors,” she said. “As a student, I’m very concerned about the future.”
What was the impact?
- In the central province of Veragua, protesters blocked the Pan-American Highway, which restricted access for goods from other Central American countries to the Panama Canal. The highway is the route that transports 80 percent of Panama’s fruit and vegetables.
- Economists warn the demonstrations have cost the country millions of dollars in casualties and are causing fuel and food shortages. Most of the stalls in Panama’s main market closed early on Monday due to a shortage of fruit and vegetables.
- “Everything is stuck; few things arrive,” Roberto Villarreal, a vendor, told Al Jazeera. “A bit of tomato, onion, pepper or carrot and potato. And usually we can only sell about 30 percent of what arrives. The rest is already ruined because it was banned for days.”
Passengers walk as unionists block the entrance to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City [File: Luis Acost/AFP]
What has the government done?
- In response to the protests, President Cortizo announced a cut in fuel prices and plans to cap the price of 10 basic products.
- He blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine for the cost increases.
- “One of the problems affecting Panamanians and the world now is the rising fuel prices and the consequences. That’s why I’ve scheduled talks to address the high cost of fuel, which directly impacts the cost of basic necessities, with the goal of finding concrete and feasible solutions,” Cortizo said.
- The Cortizo government on Sunday agreed to further cut gas prices from $3.95 to $3.25 a gallon, a stark contrast to June’s $5.20 a gallon. But the move wasn’t enough to appease protesters, who set up new roadblocks and vowed to keep protesting.
- Analysts say part of the problem lies in an uneven economic recovery of Panama’s diverse social classes after the pandemic.
- “The macro numbers are based on a few items – logistics, the national airline, mining and the Panama Canal,” Guillermo Ruiz, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera.
- “But that growth hasn’t passed to the population while prices have gone up. So the working class of Panama is wondering why they are not able to pay for medicines or gas when the country is growing at 6.5 percent,” he said.